Why Simba Matters to Our Beloved Bees

Over the last three months, I have had a not-entirely-voluntary and multi-pronged education around The Lion King franchise. I’ve gone way beyond my cursory understanding from when I first saw the movie in a theatre — remember those?!?! — back in 1994. After listening to the song Here Comes the Lion Guard approximately 237 times, one of the key lyrics finally clicked. I actually listened and heard:

“All the lions in the sky / Always keeping a watchful eye”

I realized in that moment how the Circle of Life theme is thoughtfully and beautifully woven into The Lion King universe. As I’m writing this, my daughter said, the lions “defend the circle of life.” (p.s. the marketing and writing is definitely WORKING!!). The show, song, movie, etc. does a lovely job at teaching children about how BIG life concepts like life, death, protection, safety, etc. work.

So what’s the connection here? As National Honey Bee Day approaches on August 15th, it got me thinking in a profound way about how we need to keep a watchful eye on essential elements of our earth like our precious bees. Do kids really know that bees help keep humans’ circle of life moving? Maybe yes, maybe no. But one of our jobs as adults is to help connect the dots that may not be so obvious.

Enjoy sharing some of the below fun and buzz-worthy lessons about bees with little ones!

I learned from Gaiser Bee Company that “Most people don’t know that honey bees contribute to one-third of the food we consume.” One way they are educating the community about the importance of bees is through their “Host-A-Hive” program which offers people of any skill level the opportunity to become involved in the fight to save the bees.

Find many kid-friendly educational bee reference resources on Bee Girl

After you’ve learned more about the incredible bee-based facts, share a fun creative bee story that features Lizzy, a honey-scented bee who encourages Za Za to go on a scent-sational nature-inspired adventure!

Take a moment on August 15th to appreciate the impactful role bees have on our circle of life.