All About Bee Keeping

My family has a Father’s Day tradition of strawberry picking. It doesn’t always work out. Some years, there are no strawberries left by Father’s Day. Other Father’s Days, the weather is poor. Still, extreme heat or rain doesn’t stop us.

We tried a new farm this year. Cider Hill Farm is in Boston’s North Shore. It’s very lovely with a fully decked out store, and chicken coops. It rained lightly so we gathered five pints of strawberries as fast as we could. I think we finished in fifteen minutes and ended up spending more time in the store than in the fields.

The bee hive inside the store caught my attention. Rigged so that bees can come and go outside through a tube, the clear glass hive allows you to see exactly what the bees are doing. I thought it was fascinating! There is also a beehive at the Museum of Science in Boston!

I hope you enjoy this visit with the bees! How about you? Do you have bee hives near you? Do you keep bees?! I want to try but my city’s ordinance requires 150 yards from other houses and I don’t think I have that kind of distance between neighbors.

I recently received this nonfiction advanced picture book that covered many aspects of beekeeping in an easy to understand way.

The Broken Bees’ Nest by Lydia Lukidis, illustrated by Andre Ceolin

Arun and Keya search the perfect tree for a tree house but find one with a battered bees’ nest! The bees need a new home―right away, so they find Dr. Chen down the road! She’s a beekeeper who sells honey locally and she’s the perfect person to move the hive to a new location. Filled with sidebar facts, kids will learn about all the different facets of beekeeping. This maker series encourages hands-on learning. Maybe they will even be inspired to become beekeepers too! [picture book, ages 5 and up]