Bees are my spirit animal, plus math is my favorite subject. All of the honeycombs aligned as I created these bee math activities for preschoolers. Your students will be buzzing with the joy of learning as they develop their number sense, practice counting, master ten frames, and create beautiful flower patterns with these bee math centers.
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Bee Lesson Plans
save the Bee ten frame game
Bee Math Activities for Preschoolers
I know, I know. Bees are extremely important pollinators and should not be killed with flyswatters.
But for the sake of some flying fun, let’s whip out those flyswatters. But instead of just going into bee kill mode, the race is also on to save the bees.
Flip over a ten-frame card displaying a certain number of bees. One student or teacher will try to swat that number on the mat, while another will try to save that bee by covering it with a hive (aka a small cup with a hive printout on it).
The thrill of the one-on-one race will surely be a hit in your bee math centers. (Yup, pun intended. You know how I roll.)
Materials:
bee number line
Missing Number Activity
When it came to brainstorming bee activities, I was buzzing with excitement and ideas.
I had to channel my inner bee spirit and hone in on what is really important—foundational numeracy skills that help foster little mathematicians within a theme, of course!
Here’s how to play: While your preschoolers are closing their eyes, cover up one, two, or three numbers using those hexagon pattern blocks that fit oh-so-perfectly on top. Then, have your students name the hidden numbers.
Once they get the hang of it, they can take turns hiding the numbers for each other during your bee math centers.
Materials:
Build a Beehive
Bee Counting Activity
What is it about pattern blocks that are just so satisfying? The perfect way they fit together? The possibilities for visual math aids (math nerd here)?
Or maybe it’s that they make the perfect beehives.
Yup, perfect beehives. Final answer.
In this next bee math activity, your preschoolers will simply love the satisfaction of building the perfect beehives using hexagon pattern blocks, bee erasers or buttons, and yellow pompom pollen balls.
Plus, you’ll love that they’re working on number identification, one-to-one correspondence, and fine motor skills as they build their beehives!
Materials:
Bee flower measure
Bee Math Activities for Preschoolers
Pollination is divine. Bees gracefully collect pollen from flowers, leaving their beauty intact, yet the work is so immense that Earth would fail without it.
So, while bees work to keep life going, can we instill that gratitude in our little ones?
And why not throw in some counting and measuring while we’re at it?
Count the number of bees pollinating the flower and find the matching numbered leaf. To take it to the next level, click that number of snap cubes together and find the stem of the matching height for the flower to grow on.
Gratitude for bees and the ability to learn and appreciate our world.
Materials:
Pollination Station
Making & Continuing Patterns
Picking a favorite flower has been a challenging feat for me. There’s a bouquet of choices: sunflowers, roses, orchids, hydrangeas, and so on.
But one flower has grown to become my favorite after my friend just gave me a vase full of them: tulips.
And tulips are these bees’ favorite, too, with this next Pollination Station Pattern Activity.
Set out a vase of flowers or the colored flower mat, and then have your bee buzz from flower to flower to show the patterns on the cards.
Take it to the next level by finishing the patterns with translucent chips.
This buzz-worthy activity will get your preschoolers to say those color patterns over and over and grow their love for tulips, too.
Materials:
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Let’s create a hive of mathematical excitement for our little learners! With these bee math activities for preschoolers, your little ones will be buzzing with enthusiasm while honing their math skills. From counting to pattern-making, the world of numbers will feel as sweet as honey. Don’t let this opportunity fly by—seize the chance to grab the entire bundle of bee activities and watch your little ones thrive in the garden of learning!
