How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skillfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
In works of labour or of skill
I would be busy too:
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.
In books, or work, or healthful play
Let my first years be past,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last.
Divine and Moral Songs for Children (1866) | Isaac Watts (1674–1748)
Suggestions
Have your children do one or more of the following:
- Read the poem aloud (or read it aloud for younger children).
- Identify the lines that rhyme.
- What is the rhyme scheme? (AABB)
- Copy the poem in your copybook.
- Provide a written narration (or oral for younger students) and explain what the poem means.
- Give an account of what you did yesterday. How can you make improvements today?
- Rewrite the poem in story form.
- Use this poem as a jumping off point to learn more about bees.
- Read another poem about bees. This one has a moral as well. Compare and contrast the two poems.
- Learn more about Isaac Watts.
- Find another hymn by Isaac Watts to copy. (There will be some familiar ones!)
- Create an Author Page for Isaac Watts.
Further Information
The First Book of Bees by Albert B. Tibbets
Great introductory book about bees in the public domain. It contains nice illustrations, including those of a bee cell.
The Bee People ~ Free eBook
A classic that explains the world of bees in story form. Bee characteristics and behavior.
Winnie-the-Pooh: A Unit Study
One of our own. Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees makes a cute tie-in. You’ll find several activities along with the text of this first Pooh story.
