Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: World of Wonder: A Program on the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism for Grades K-1

Faith In Action: Help the Honeybees

Materials for Activity

  • Optional: Copies of The Bee Book
  • Optional: Closing Song lyrics (Session 1)
  • Optional: Video and/or still cameras

Preparation for Activity

  • Review a website on how you can take action to help the honeybees and choose activities for the event. Download and print copies of The Bee Book from the Haagen-Dazs company.
  • Consult with your religious educator to choose a day and time for the gathering.
  • Inform families of event plans and invite members of your congregation to attend. Note: If the congregation participates in UUA's Green Sanctuary program, invite members of that committee to help plan and implement this activity.
  • If you plan to take photographs or video, ask your religious educator for a permission form you can have participants sign at the event.

Description of Activity

One nature partnership is the honey bee and the flower. Families and the wider congregation may not be aware of the current honey bee crisis in the United States. The ice cream brand Haagen-Dazs has created an interactive website explaining the importance of honey bees as well as actions that can be taken to help. Choose activities that will work well for your group or congregation. Examples include:

  • View the video of high school students performing a "waggle dance" and invite all ages to participate in the dance.
  • Have an ice cream tasting. Contact Haagen-Dazs or a local ice cream vendor for donations.
  • Provide copies of The Bee Book. Select pages to share, such as the fact sheets or word search.
  • Invite a local beekeeper to give a talk, or arrange a trip to local hives.
  • Recruit volunteers to help with the event, and ask some to take pictures.

During the event, have volunteers take photographs or video to share with the children at a later time. Close the event with these words, or your own:

As Unitarian Universalists, we believe it is important to take care of all of the living beings in the web of life because we are all connected to each other. What happens to the honey bees matters to us all.

Have the children lead the song, "We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands." Invite the participants to add verses such as "bees and the flowers in our hands" and corresponding motions.

Share photos or video of the event with the children in a subsequent session.