James Bills knows a thing or two about bees. When he isn’t teaching second grade at Northwood Elementary School, he tends to his own hive. Bills is an avid beekeeper and this summer he spread his passion with second grade summer school students.
“We cover everything from the bee to the bottle,” said Bills. “We go over the whole process so it’s easy for the kids to understand and they enjoy it.”
His visit coincides perfectly with the second grade science curriculum. As students learned about pollination, Mr. Bills stopped by to get them buzzing about bees with an immersive presentation.
“The students have been learning this in summer school so he builds on that,” said Diana Wueste, NEISD Science Instructional Specialist. “When he comes in to speak to the kids he’s adding a whole new layer with what he knows. The kids get so excited and they are full of questions.”
Bills says another teacher gave him a jar of honey 10 years ago and that sparked his interest. The obsession started that day and now he shares it with his students. Bills began this honey of a bee tour last summer and he hit almost every elementary summer school once again in June.
“I do this because I love it and if we didn’t have these bees, we would all be in trouble. This is fun for me and I just like to do it. It’s that simple, really.”
Way to go, Mr. Bills!
