A Dragon’s Breath workshop will creatively fulfill a range of objectives in the Early Years, Key Stage One and Two curriculum. It can be tailored to the themes, objectives and needs of your class and can provide opportunities for PSHCE and citizenship. Children are engaged and involved in their learning experience.
What can we learn from bees?
Bees are a superb way of creatively and imaginatively enriching our children’s curriculum and the six areas of learning. Bees are fundamental to our food chain and over a third of the food on our plates. Unfortunately, through climate change and environmental pollution, colonies of bees are being lost. As teachers, we can help children explore how we can support these insects.
And there is so much more…
Workshops are usually a half day,I can split this between 2 classes.
Children learn about the honey bee, the hive and look at a “frame” of wax and honey from our hives. All children will make their own candle to take home with them, using natural beeswax. This always produces lots of discussion about the feel and smell!
Workshops can be followed by a range of activities, tailored for your class. For example:
- Habitats, pollination, properties of materials -melting wax
- Process of making honey, from flower to jar
- Tessellation investigations, estimation, problem solving
- Spot the difference – between different species of bees and wasps
- Making their own bee – how the limbs and mouthparts have adapted
- Roleplay using a beekeepers hat and veil
- Drama – exploring the social life of the honeybee colony (which can provide a controversial start to thinking about the structure of societies).
- Symbolic use of candles in Divali, Advent and cultural or religious festivals.
- Dance – create your own “waggle dance”
- Poetry using the senses, stories, non-chronological texts…
I have received excellent feedback from teachers and children about their workshops. Easter and Mother’s Day are this term’s big events where candles play an important part. Call me to chat through how you can use beeswax candles to enhance your children’s experiences.
This is what other people have said about my workshops:
Great Missenden School (year 6): It was a fantastic market and the children loved doing the mini candles. (Children made the candles to sell at their market.)
Great Missenden school invited me back for a second visit, this time to work with preschool and reception children: Thank you for last week, you wouldn’t believe how much the class got out of your visit. I almost called you to see if you could come in and see for yourself.
West Green Primary School: It was a lovely afternoon and enjoyed by all.
Elangeni School: We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to make beeswax candles with Min Atkinson from the company Dragon’s Breath, who also taught us about bees and beekeeping! Many thanks to Min.