Life of the Bumblebee

In Life of the Bumblebee, children will learn about bumblebees and their lives and become familiar with basic algorithmic thinking by playing with and programming the Bee-bot, a small robot bumblebee. In this module, the children will start wondering about how bumblebees and other bee species find food, spread pollen, and produce honey.

Learning through play is an important feature of this module. As it is often the children’s first experience in a Newton Room, having fun and becoming familiar with the room is also an important goal.

Short overview of the activities:

INTRODUCTION TO BUMBLEBEES (amphitheatre):
The children sing a song, take part in a conversation, are introduced to a toy bumblebee, examine a flower, and watch a short film.

WE ARE BUMBLEBEES (floor activity):
The children pretend to be bumblebees, moving and acting like them.

ROBOT PROGRAMMING (floor activity):
The children are introduced to the Bee-Bot robot. They programme the 'bumblebee' to follow a path on a mat towards the flowers and then explore freely with the Bee-Bot.

DIALOGUE AND SENSORY IMPRESSION (amphitheatre):
The Newton Teacher engage the children in a discussion on how to help bumblebees, be aware of their senses, taste and smell honey, and learn about different bumblebee species.

This module plan should be flexible to include time for questions and input from the children. The children must feel that they are taken seriously and that they are involved in shaping the content of the module.