Share the book "In the Trees, Honey Bees" by Lori Mortensen with your students. Discuss the illustrations with students as you read. Later, ask questions such as where the beehive is hidden and whether the worker bees are male or female, and review the content of the illustrations, including the colors of the bees. Then pass out the Enchanted Learning honey bee coloring pages and have the students go to their desks and color their bees.
Go online to the Honey Bee Cam website (bees-on-the-net.com/bee-cam) and use a whiteboard projector and screen to show your students the live feed. Point out the female worker bees, the wax honeycomb, and the honey. Use your mouse arrow to outline the hexagon-shaped cells that make up the honeycomb. Give each student seven hexagons with 2-inch sides and a sheet of construction paper. Have students glue one hexagon in the middle of the construction paper and glue a hexagon to each side of the first hexagon to make a honeycomb. Ask students to write one of the following vocabulary words in each hexagon: "honey," "bee," "honeycomb," "wax," "hexagon," "queen" and "worker."
Arrange a field trip to a children's museum, a college horticulture department or arboretum with an observation beehive. Explain to your students that an observation beehive is enclosed in glass or plastic, like an ant farm. This keeps the bees and the people safe, although the bees can fly in and out of a hole cut in the wall of the museum or college building. Make sure you are aware of any students with an allergy to bee stings and that you have all parental and school permissions. (A parent or school nurse may be required to dispense any necessary medication.)
Tell your students that they will use honey to make honey butter. In a large bowl place 1 lb. butter cut it into chunks. Use a whisk attachment at a low speed to loosen the butter. Increase to medium speed and add 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Beat the ingredients about five to seven minutes. Remove the butter from the bowl with a spoon and place in onto plastic wrap or parchment paper. Have students help roll the butter into a log and place in the refrigerator for two hours. Then have your students use plastic spoons to spread honey butter onto graham crackers and eat.