Neighbor News
West Patent Elementary Participates in a Sweet Week of Service
Students worked with the school's bees and were even able to taste their honey
In honor of September 11, West Patent Elementary School participated in a Week of Service. In the past, the school has held a Day of Service during which students beautify school grounds, work in the garden and help care for the chickens. This year, they spent a full week learning about and caring for the school’s bees — some of the mightiest helpers in our ecosystem.
“Bees provide us with so many things,” tiered support teacher Alison Muller said to a group of fourth graders. “What do the bees provide us with?”
Students called out things like honey, flowers, fruit and vegetables.
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“Right! We need bees, which is one of the reasons why we have our own hives outside,” Muller said.
Throughout the week, students participated in activities like visiting the bees (in full beekeeper suits!) and learning about their hives, planting flowers, jarring and taste-testing honey samples from the school’s hive and creating labels, bags and signs for a honey sale.
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The fourth graders Muller was working with were about to taste-test honey and fill jars with it. They saw photos of the process of harvesting honey and learned about each step — from how the bees make honeycomb to how the honey is spun and strained to become the form students had in front of them. Each student in the school will take home a sample, and the school will have jars available for purchase.
“It’s sweet!” one student said after trying it.
“It’s bold,” said another.
A third student added, “Ms. Muller, I could eat this whole entire bucket!”
The students’ teacher, Suzanne Wanderlingh, noticed something special — and interdisciplinary — about the packaging the jars were sent in.
“Look! It’s an array,” she said, holding up a piece of foam with pieces cut out in rows and columns to protect the jars. “And what shape are these openings?”
“Hexagons!” students called out.
“Holy math, Ms. Muller!”
The week’s activities crossed other disciplines as well, with books about bees, a honeybee song and videos explaining the science behind how bees make honey.
