Our lessons: Honey bees

We did a very fun lesson block about bees. This was an interdisciplinary lesson. Included was math, language, nature study, art, form drawing, painting, cooking,and others. The lessons were based around The Story Of Hildy Honeybee, an original story I wrote for the lessons. It is a 4 part story which tells of the life stages of a honey bee from a tiny egg to adult. I did a huge amount of reading on the subject so that I would have a thorough understanding of the facts, and it was good that I did because the questions were many. I have included links to many of the pages I gleaned the information from. This block took almost 3 weeks for us. I used the standard Waldorf 3 day rhythm: Day 1 Story, day 2 artistic realm, then on the 3rd day academic realm. We learned a few new bee verses, and a couple of funny bee riddles ( youcan find them in the info links). We had a honey tasting. You can really taste the difference between the different flowers. We  made a no bake cookie called Honey Crispies, a type of rice crispy snack. Both of these activities were met with great enthusiasm. We worked on the number 6 all throughout this unit since the comb is hexagonal, and the bee has six legs. We skip counted, and tossed the ball to the 6 times table. In form drawing we drew freehand hexagons, six sided stars, and a form that mimics the bee’s waggle dance that we learned about in part 4 (see pic below).  Our spelling words came from our lessons. We do a spelling list each week. Our words were

The Story of HIldy Honeybee part 1

I’m going to tell you a  story about a very hard working girl named Hildy. Hildy came from a large family.

Honey for health & beauty

Scientists there have found that honey kills a wide range of bacteria when applied directly to the skin and so helps prevent infection. Part of honey’s antibacterial activity can be explained by what’s known as an “osmotic” or “water-withdrawing” effect. Honey has very little water – that’s what makes it thick and gooey – whereas bacteria are made mostly of water. So when certain kinds of bacteria come into contact with honey, the honey basically sucks the water out of the bacteria like a sponge, and the bacteria die. And even though honey tastes sweet, it’s actually quite acidic – and certain bacteria can’t grow in an acidic environment. Finally, honey contains hydrogen peroxide, a known antiseptic.

For a sore throat:
If you have a minor sore throat or cough, try a home remedy containing honey instead of over-the-counter medication. Simply boil a whole lemon, and after the lemon has cooled, squeeze the juice into a container. Blend in one cup of honey, and every four hours take two tablespoons. Your throat will be coated and soothed, and a cough caused by minor irritation should be alleviated.

Sinus and Stomach Problems:

Do you have minor stomach or sinus problems? Try honey and vinegar. Before you turn up your nose at this combination, it really isn’t bad when mixed with ice-cold apple juice. Simply mix a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a tablespoon of honey, and mix it with one cup of ice-cold apple juice. This concoction tastes like delicious apple cider, and it will help alleviate minor sinus and stomach ailments

For boo-boos:

Honey contains an antimicrobial, and after a minor wound has been properly cleaned, a little honey can help prevent infection. Simply spread a thin layer of honey over a light abrasion or minor cut. Honey aides in healing, and this natural medication provided by nature helps keep wounds free from bacteria.

 Afternoon Fatigue:

At 3:00pm (or when the body is feeling fatigued), drink 1/2 Tablespoon of honey in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder. Energy will increase within one week if taken daily.

* Anxiety and Nervous Tension:

 Honey is said to calm a nervous, high strung person. It can also help you sleep at night. For insomnia, take 1 Tablespoon of honey at dinner. If that doesn’t work, try mixing 3 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar to 1 cup of honey in a jar. Take 2 teaspoons before bed. If you don’t fall asleep within the hour, take 2 teaspoons more. An old ayuverdic remedy has men taking the same dosage (2 Tablespoons of honey) before bed to treat impotence.

* Honey for pain relief:

Mix 3 Tbls. of honey in boiled water and drink. Honey has natural pain-relieving powers.

* Longevity Tea:

 Boil 3 cups of water with 4 teaspoons of honey and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Drink 1/4 cup, 3 or 4 times a day. Said to give steady energy and keep the skin soft!

* Honey Relieves Coughs:

Here’s a recipe from the book, Folk Medicine, by DC Jarvis: boil a whole lemon slowly for 10 minutes. Cut the lemon in 2 and extract the juice. Add juice to a 4 oz glass. Then add 2 Tablespoons of glycerine and fill the remaining glass with honey. Dosage: 1 teaspoon during the day. Stir with spoon before taking. If you have a night-time cough, take 1 teaspoon right before retiring and then another one during the night. If your cough is severe, take concoction every 4 hours starting with when you wake up. As the cough gets better, you take less and less.

* Honey for Burns:

 Apply to burn, cover with a soft bandage.

* Honey for Asthma:

Right before going to bed, take a mixture of 1 tsp. honey with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.

* Honey for Hang-overs:

Eat honey on bread or crackers. The fructose in the honey helps to flush out the alcohol in your system.
HONEY OR HONEYCOMB FOR ALLERGIES

Honeycomb is an old Vermont remedy for allergies. When honeycomb is chewed regularly during allergy season, it completely alleviates allergies.

Recipe: Chew a piece of honeycomb as long as possible as though it were a piece of gum. Within 30 minutes of chewing honeycomb, symptoms like a stuffy nose and headache disappear. Start chewing honeycomb a week or two before allergy season starts and you may not get any allergies. The honeycomb should be from a local bee farm so your best luck in finding a local variety is probably at your farmer’s market. If you can’t find honeycomb, try combed honey. Plain honey apparently works as well: dosage is 2 TBLS at each meal, three times a day.
SKIN CARE

Honey has been used for 2,000 years as an antiseptic dressing for minor wounds. Because honey contains potassium, bacteria cannot survive in it. Potassium withdraws moisture, which is essential to bacteria’s survival. Honey also promotes healing and prevents scarring.

Studies have shown raw honey to have significant antioxidant properties. It is also an anti-irritant. As such, it is often one of the ingredients in sunscreen, since the chemicals in sunscreen can cause skin eruptions. Honey is a humectant (it attracts and retains moisture) and is often used in soaps, cleansers and lotions. Due to honey’s anti-bacterial nature, it can cleanse the skin’s surface as well as temporarily tighten the outer skin layers. Honey acts as both cleanser and toner.
HONEY RECIPES:

Honey Facial Moisturizer: 2 Tablespoons of honey 2 Teaspoons of Milk. Apply to face and leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

Summertime Honey Mask: When the humidity and/or filthy city air is producing breakouts and oily or gritty skin, a honey mask is a great solution! The recipe is as easy as they get! Simply spread a thin layer of honey over your face for about 15 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

Honey Scrub for the Body: mix 1/2 cup of raw honey with 1/2 cup sugar or salt. Step into the shower (sans water, of course) and scrub mixture into the skin. Then shower off.

Honey Scrub for the Face: 1 Tablespoon of honey mixed with 2 Tablespoons of finely ground almonds and half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Rub gently into the skin and rinse with warm water.

Skin Infections: Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts to the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

 

HAIR TREATMENTS

Hair Conditioner: Mix 2 Tablespoons of honey with 1/2 of a fresh avocado and 1 Teaspoon of coconut oil. Massage into hair and leave on for half an hour. Works beautifully for dry and damaged hair.

Hair Loss: To the scalp, apply a paste of hot olive oil, one Tablespoon of honey and one Teaspoon of cinnamon (powder). Keep on for approx. 15 min. and then wash the hair.

Honey boo boo salve

This recipe comes courtesy of the Magnificent Marsha Johnson of the Shining Star School in Portland. Marsha has an incredible yahoo group Waldorf Home Educators, and also has some hard to find resources for waldorf home schoolers.

 

Honey Salve:

Heat 1 cup oil, preferably good oil, we used Trader
Joe Canola Oil. Heat it carefully to avoid fires. Grate 2-3 ounces
of pure beeswax with a cheese grater big holes side.

Stir into the hot oil, beeswax and a few drops of essential oil. We
add 3-4 gel-caps of Vitamin E as well. Stir well until starting to
cool and thicken. Spoon into a small jar and use for an all purpose
salve for any injuries, bumps, rashes, etc. Be sure to use an oil
your skin can tolerate, we used lavender.