Gardening Day / Bee and Butterfly Garden
Bee and Butterfly Garden
Children plant pollinator-friendly flowers, then watch and record the bees and butterflies that visit over the term.
How to run it
- Choose a sunny garden bed or large pots for the flowers.
- Help children plant flowering seedlings and water them in.
- Show children how to watch quietly from a safe distance.
- Record visiting insects in an observation journal each week.
You will need
- flowering seedlings
- potting mix
- trowels
- watering cans
- observation journal
- pencils
Make it easier or harderYounger children can tick insect pictures on a chart; older children can graph visits by species and week.
SafetyCheck for bee sting allergies, keep EpiPens on hand and remind children not to touch bees; wear gloves and wash hands after handling soil.
My Time Our Place · Outcome 2, Outcome 4Children care for a living habitat and contribute to local biodiversity while practising observation skills.
Fits these theme days
More like this
After School Quick STEM · Science Week · Science Day +3
Cup Tower Book Challenge
Children engineer a tower from cups and card strong enough to hold a book, testing ideas about balance, load and stable bases.
After School Quick STEM · Science Week · Science Day +2Twisted Paper Loop Magic
Children make a twisted paper loop, predict what will happen when they cut it, then discover the surprising one-sided shape that results.
After School Quick STEM · Science Week · Science Day +3Spaghetti and Tape Tower
Small teams build the tallest free-standing tower they can from dry spaghetti and tape, learning about triangles, bracing and teamwork.
Ancient Egypt · Science Week · Science Day +2Salt Mummy Apple Experiment
Children preserve apple slices in salt and compare them with uncovered slices over several days, discovering how drying helped ancient mummification.