Busy Bees

When I was little, my mom made us a “Busy Bees” chart filled with fun activities & chores. I remember looking forward to participating in Busy Bees even though Chores were involved. Now I'm doing the same thing with Ella. It's so much easier to get her to do chores when there are fun activities involved as well... so far she LOVES it. Even the chores. My chart isn’t as cute as the one my mom made, but if you are interested in doing “Busy Bees” with your kid(s) you can download a copy of the file here: http://www.hollybrookejones.com/busybees.pdf. Feel free to share the link to this file with your friends and family members. I’m going to post the instructions here on my website. There are also instructions included in the file.

This file prints perfectly onto
a standard 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper.

Instructions:

1: Print the “Busy Bee’s Activities” chart onto card-stock.

2: Have the printed card-stock laminated or put a clear contact paper over the
images for extra protection. Feel free to skip this step if you wish.

3: Cut out beehive & bee’s.

4: If you wish to add any glitter or embellishments, do so now.

5: Glue some magnets to the back the beehive & one magnet to each bee.

6: Print or write some activities and/or chores onto a small piece of paper.
Here is a list of some activity ideas. Feel free to add any that would work for your child’s age.
Be sure to change out activities on a daily basis to fit your needs and to keep your child interested.

•Read a book with mom. •Help mom make cookies. •Clean all the mirrors in the bathrooms. •go tickle dad. •Count how many times you can find the word “the” in your favorite book. •Practice sight words. •jump 10 times. •Listen to the song, Old McDonald while cleaning your room. •Write a letter to Grandma. •Choose a game to play with mom. •Enjoy a yummy snack. •Complete a worksheet •Complete a (be specific) craft project. •Learn to tie your shoe. •Cut out your favorite pictures from some junk mail or old magazines. •Make up a story about your favorite animal.

7: Fold the small paper in half (so that your child can’t see what he/she is picking) and place behind each magnet.

Be sure to change out activities on a daily basis to fit your needs and to keep your child interested.

8: Set aside a time each day or week for child to complete the activities.

Here are some rules:
•The child can pick any bee that he/she wants to. The child has to complete the chore or activity before moving on to the next bee.
•I usually let my kids pick 6 bee’s a day. I usually include something fun, something educational, a chore, & a physical activity.

I hope you and your children enjoy these fun activities together.