An assembly about bees

Yesterday the headmaster asked me if I'd like to take an assembly on the bees. I naturally said yes, only to find out he meant that I should do the assembly today. So I downloaded a few photos from the internet for a powerpoint and held a 15 minute talk to the whole school.

I think it is vital that all pupils know what is going on and feel involved. So an assembly is a great way of spreading the word. Rather than just talk about the bees, I wanted to demonstrate, too, so I donned my beesuit and, smoker in hand (not lit, obviously - didn't want to set off the fire alarm), told the children what I thought they should know. As part of the talk I asked a pupil to put on a beesuit, so the pupils could all see what they would look like if they came on a manipulation with me.


So, what did I say?

1. Bees are wild creatures and when we disturb them they are likely to react negatively
2. Treated correctly they are great
3. They are vital for our agriculture and by keeping them, we are helping them
4. Why we look into the hives and what we look for
5. I told them where the hives are sited and impressed upon them to avoid the direct vicinity unless under adult supervision
6. I hoped that many would volunteer to accompany me on hive inspections , as we have three children's beesuits

There's much more I could have said, but as a first introduction, I felt that covered most bases.

The boys really liked the idea that drones get to sit around the hive all day eating honey, but weren't quite so happy when I told then the males all get thrown out come winter. That part the girls liked. The pupils laughed when I told them that when smoked the bees put their heads into honey and so you can pull out frames of bee-bums (children like all things to do with bottoms). 

As with all talks to pupils, the most important thing is to have time at the end for questions. Pupils will always come up with the weirdest questions, but they show interest and enthusiasm.