Use Pattern Blocks to Build a Beehive

I love this idea from Gift of Curiosity for making a beehive model out of hexagon pattern blocks. My daughter loved her pattern blocks when she was younger and it would be great to pull them out again and have another use for them.

The shapes can be placed next to each other to show the stacking structure of a beehive, which is a great visual if you don’t happen to have any real bees or beehives handy.

This would be a fun activity to add to a unit study on bees (she has some more activities linked in the post, check out more ideas at the Homeschool Scientist and Year Round Homeschooling.

Or leave just the hexagon pattern block out (we even have a honeybee game with little honeybee figures you could add to a basket with the blocks) and use your child’s interest in it as a way to talk more about bees.

[Photo: Gift of Curiosity.]

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Learning about Bees for Kids

Learning about Hanukkah is important for people of all faiths as a reminder that December isn’t just about Christmas and that their are many other important holidays that happen during this time. Hanukkah unit studies can give you ideas for incorporating the holiday into your holiday studies that happen in December, or to use at home for learning about people of different faiths.

Homeschool Superfreak has a lot of basic ideas for how to build a Hanukkah unit study, as well as FAQs about what Hanukkah is and why it is celebrated. This list is a good stargint point but doesn’t include all the details you’ll need. For example it says you can play the dreidel game but doesn’t explain how to do that or why it’s important. (If you need that information, this post from Mama Smiles is a good source.)

Teachers Pay Teachers has lots of great lesson plans and activities if you’re willing to pay a little bit to get some good content. Two I really like are this Hanukkah PowerPoint presentation from Shelia Melton, which provides a good overview of traditions, food and the history of Hanukkah; and a virtual field trip to Jerusalem from MagiCore, which includes lots of videos showing the city and activities like playing dreidel, drawing a menorah and making latkes. It’s a Google Drive folder and also includes writing activities and more for kids in second to fifth grade.

Kids Activities Blog has some simple printables with facts about Hanukkah and things kids can color in like a Star of David, sufganiyots (jelly doughnuts) and a menorah. These are great for learning the basics.

Homeschool Giveaways has a printable ebook about Hanukkah complete with questions kids can answer after they read. This would be a good one for older kids with good reading comprehension.

NurtureStore’s Hanukkah unit study includes a printable mini book, tons of crafts, as well as math and writing activities. I love the dominoes game that’s part of the unit.

And check out our previous posts for more Hanukkah crafts and learning activities!

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