Back to Activities
Physical Development
Bee to Beehive Eye-Hand Coordination Game for Preschoolers
Children will cut out adorable bees and a beehive from a printable, then create an interactive cardboard maze to guide their bees home. This engaging activity enhances eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills while fostering imaginative play.
Share:
Topics:
game
Ages 3-4
Printable PDF
Video Tutorial
Log in to track your progress on this activity
Sign in to track progressWhat Your Child Will Learn
- Enhance eye-hand coordination and visual tracking skills.
- Develop fine motor skills through cutting, pasting, and manipulating objects.
- Improve problem-solving abilities by navigating the bee through a maze.
- Foster creativity and imagination through decorating the activity and storytelling.
- Introduce basic concepts about bees and their habitat.
Materials Needed
- Bee to Beehive printable
- Cardboard box
- Scissors
- Glue stick or liquid glue
- Craft sticks or straws (optional)
- Markers, crayons, or paint
- Pencil or pen
- Utility knife or craft knife (adult supervision)
Video Tutorial
Step-by-Step Instructions
What You'll Need
• Bee to Beehive printable (provided) • Cardboard box (e.g., a shipping box or cereal box) • Scissors • Glue stick or liquid glue • Craft sticks or straws (optional, for making bee puppets) • Markers, crayons, or paint (for decorating cardboard) • Pencil or pen • Utility knife or craft knife (adult supervision required)
Getting Started
• Print out the 'Bee to Beehive' worksheet. • Carefully cut out all the bees and the large beehive illustration. • Glue the cut-out bees onto craft sticks or straws to create 'bee puppets' if desired, or simply use them as flat cutouts. • Prepare your cardboard box: Choose one side of the box to be your activity surface. You can decorate it to look like a tree branch with leaves using markers or paint, as shown in the example. • Draw several circles or oval shapes on the cardboard box, creating a path from one side to the other, leading towards where the beehive will be placed. These will be the 'holes' for the bees to travel through. • With adult supervision, carefully cut out the drawn circles/ovals on the cardboard using a utility knife or craft knife. Ensure the holes are large enough for the bee cutouts (especially if on sticks) to pass through. • Paste the large beehive cutout onto the cardboard, positioned near the end of your 'bee path' of holes.
How to Do This Activity
• Explain to your child that the bees need to find their way back to the beehive. • Show your child how to insert a bee (either a flat cutout or a bee puppet on a stick) into one of the starting holes. • Challenge them to maneuver the bee through the different holes, guiding it along the 'branch' path until it reaches the beehive. • Encourage them to use both hands if needed, focusing on pushing, pulling, and rotating the bee to navigate through the openings. • Celebrate each time a bee successfully reaches the beehive!
Tips for Parents
• Encourage your child with positive reinforcement as they attempt to guide the bees. • Talk about bees and beehives: Where do bees live? What do they do? Why are they important? • Emphasize the importance of patience and persistence, especially if navigating the holes is challenging. • Model the activity first to show your child how it's done, then let them try independently.
Ways to Extend
• **Time Challenge:** Use a timer to see if your child can get all the bees to the beehive within a certain time limit. • **Numbered Path:** Write numbers next to the holes and ask your child to guide the bee through the holes in numerical order. • **Storytelling:** Encourage your child to create a story about the bees' journey to the beehive as they play. • **Different Objects:** Once comfortable with bees, try guiding other small, child-safe objects through the maze.
