World Bee Day EYFS Resource Pack
Buzz into nature-based learning with our World Bee Day activity pack – created just for Early Years settings!
Celebrate World Bee Day (20th May) in your nursery or reception class with this beautiful, ready-to-use EYFS resource pack. Packed with age-appropriate activities, it helps children explore the fascinating world of bees through play, creativity, and outdoor exploration.
🌼 What’s Included:
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5 fully-planned bee-themed activities linked to the EYFS framework
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Printable templates for crafts, sorting games and counting activities
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Outdoor learning ideas to explore pollination and habitats
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Bee-themed rhyme time suggestions and story links
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Tips for extending learning indoors and out
📚 Areas of Learning Covered:
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Understanding the World
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Communication & Language
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Expressive Arts and Design
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Mathematics
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Personal, Social & Emotional Development
🌟 Perfect For:
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Nurseries, pre-schools and reception classes
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Forest school or outdoor learning days
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Themed weeks and nature projects
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Practitioners looking to promote sustainability and nature awareness in the early years
Designed by early years educators, this pack helps children connect with nature, develop a love for mini-beasts, and understand the importance of bees in our world – all while having fun! 🐝💛
🖨️ Printable & digital formats included
🌿 No prep required – just print, play and learn!
World Bee Day Activities for EYFS: Buzzing Ideas for Early Years Learning
World Bee Day, celebrated on 20th May, is the perfect opportunity for Early Years practitioners to introduce young children to the wonderful world of bees. Through playful, hands-on activities, children in EYFS settings can explore nature, learn about pollination, and build a lifelong love for our buzzing pollinator friends.
In this blog post, you’ll find a range of EYFS-friendly activities, themed songs, and creative play ideas to help you plan a magical World Bee Day celebration.
🌍 Why Celebrate World Bee Day in EYFS?
Bees play a crucial role in pollinating many of the foods we eat, as well as supporting healthy ecosystems. Teaching children about bees from a young age helps foster environmental awareness, empathy for living things, and a curiosity for nature.
In the EYFS framework, World Bee Day activities naturally support areas of learning including:
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🧠 Understanding the World
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🎨 Expressive Arts and Design
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💬 Communication and Language
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💛 Personal, Social and Emotional Development
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🔢 Mathematics
🌼 5 Bee-Themed Activities for EYFS
Here are some simple, sensory-rich, and child-led ideas for celebrating World Bee Day in your EYFS setting.
🐝 1. “Here Is the Beehive” Rhyme and Puppet Play
EYFS Area: Communication and Language
Activity:
Teach the children the classic rhyme “Here is the beehive, where are the bees?” using finger puppets or bee toys. Add simple hand movements to make the rhyme interactive.
🧠 Extension: Invite children to retell the rhyme with props or create their own buzzing bee sounds.
🎨 2. Bee Footprint Craft
EYFS Area: Expressive Arts and Design
Activity:
Paint each child’s foot with yellow paint and press it onto paper. Once dry, children (with adult help) add black stripes and wings using safe pens or stickers to turn their footprint into a bumblebee!
📸 A perfect keepsake to send home or display on your classroom wall!
🌸 3. Pollination Play (Role-Play Area)
EYFS Area: Understanding the World / PSED
Activity:
Set up a “flower field” using artificial flowers and small pots. Children wear wings or headbands and pretend to be bees, “collecting nectar” using sponges or cups and transferring it to a “hive.”
💬 Talk about: Why bees visit flowers and how they help plants grow.
🔢 4. Bee Counting and Sorting Game
EYFS Area: Mathematics
Activity:
Use bee counters, pom-poms, or cut-out shapes in black and yellow. Ask children to sort by colour or size, count how many bees are in each group, or create patterns.
🧮 Great for supporting number recognition and early sorting skills.
🌿 5. Make a Bee-Friendly Garden
EYFS Area: Understanding the World / Physical Development
Activity:
Plant bee-friendly flowers like lavender, marigolds, or sunflowers in pots or garden beds. Involve children in digging, watering, and observing plant growth.
🌞 Link to World Bee Day: Talk about how flowers help bees, and how bees help plants grow.
📚 Recommended Bee Books for EYFS
Here are some lovely bee-themed books perfect for story time:
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“That’s Not My Bee…” – Fiona Watt (Usborne)
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“Little Bee” – Chronicle Books
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“Hello, World! Bees” – Jill McDonald
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“Peek-a-Boo! Baby and Bee” – Patricia Hegarty
📖 Use these books to spark discussions and vocabulary related to bees, flowers, and nature.
🎵 Bee Songs and Rhymes
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Here is the Beehive
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Buzz Buzz Buzz Went the Bumblebee
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Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee
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The Ants Go Marching (add in “bees” verses!)
🎶 These rhymes help develop rhythm, language, and coordination.
🛠️ Tips for Planning World Bee Day in EYFS
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Use natural resources where possible: flowers, soil, stones, water
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Provide open-ended materials for child-led exploration
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Involve children in setting up activities (ownership builds engagement!)
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Keep activities flexible and calm, especially for younger age groups
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Talk about bee safety in a child-friendly way (e.g., “Bees don’t want to hurt us!”)
🔗 Useful Resources
Here are some high-authority websites offering bee resources for schools and early years:
🐝 Final Thoughts
World Bee Day is a wonderful opportunity to bring nature into your early years setting. With a little creativity, you can inspire curiosity, environmental awareness, and joyful learning—all while celebrating the vital role bees play in our world.
Whether you’re planting flowers, painting little footprints, or buzzing through rhyme time, your children will love the chance to explore, create and connect with nature.
