In April, your local Children’s Lighthouse Early Learning School is excited to introduce you to our new Character Value Friend™, Buzzy the Honeybee! Buzzy is from Germany and lives in a busy beehive with a colony of other honeybees. Like us, honeybees work together to care for their home and each other. One of the most important things about being part of a bee colony is responsibility. Responsibility means doing what you are expected to do, making good choices, and caring for yourself and others. April is full of curriculum lessons and activities to teach children the character value of responsibility at Children’s Lighthouse. When we are responsible, others can count on us to do what we say we will do.

The Importance of Responsibility - Responsibility is an important character value that helps us in many areas of our lives. When we show responsibility, we take care of what we are supposed to do, whether at home, at school, or in our community. Responsibility means being reliable and trustworthy. It means cleaning up, doing our chores, helping friends, and following through on our commitments.

Buzzy’s Important Job - In Buzzy’s colony, every honeybee has a special role, and each bee is responsible for doing their job to help the hive. The hive is like a big family where everyone works together. Buzzy is a worker bee, which means it is her responsibility to collect nectar from flowers. But she doesn’t just collect nectar—while she works, she also carries pollen on her legs from flower to flower. This important job helps plants grow and produce new seeds, making sure we have fruits, vegetables, and beautiful flowers.

Can you imagine what would happen if Buzzy and her fellow worker bees did not do their jobs? The hive would not have enough food, and the flowers would not be able to grow new plants. The entire colony depends on each bee to be responsible and do their part.

Other Responsible Bees - Buzzy is not the only bee with an important job. The hive is full of bees that take their responsibilities seriously. Some bees clean the hive to keep it safe and healthy. Others take care of baby bees, feeding them and making sure they grow strong. Some bees are in charge of making honey, turning the nectar into delicious food for the whole colony. There are even bees that build the honeycomb, creating a strong and organized home for everyone to live in. Every bee in the colony can be counted on to do their part, just like how we can be responsible at school, at home, and in our friendships.

How Can We Teach Children To Be Responsible Like Buzzy? – It is a proven fact that children often model the actions they see from adults. The first step in teaching children to be responsible is to be responsible adults and do what we say we will do.

Here are a few ways you can model responsibility:

• Complete your household chores without being reminded.
• Take care of your personal belongings and keep your personal spaces tidy.
• Follow through on commitments and only make promises that you can keep.
• Help others when they need support.

Here are a few ways you teach children responsibility:

• Assign children age-appropriate chores or “jobs.”
  • Even toddlers can do chores such as putting clothes in a hamper, wiping baseboards with a sock on their hand, and putting food in a pet’s bowl. (from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/chores/the-ultimate-list-of-age-appropriate-chores/)
• Teach the expectation of taking care of personal belongings.
• Do not ask children under 5 or 6 years of age to make promises. Instead, remind children to be responsible and provide positive reinforcement when they do what they say they will do.
• Look for random, small ways that children can help others. For example, have them help put up an abandoned cart found in a store’s parking lot.

When we are responsible, the children in our sphere of influence will know they can count on us. Just like Buzzy, we each have an essential role in teaching children to make the world a better place. Let’s all be like Buzzy the Honeybee and show responsibility in everything we do!