The Big Bad Bee

Now that the weather has gotten warmer, the bees and wasps are out and about.

My girls are remembering their past traumatizing bee and wasp stings. They are paralyzed with fear.

Whenever Angel sees even a harmless little black fly, she freezes and screams, "A bee! A bee! Help Me, I'm scared!"

Today homeschooing screeched to a halt when Courtney noticed a wasp in the house. She couldn't move for horror. She was convinced that if she moved the wasp would see her and sting her.

Can you tell they've had a lot of bad stings in the past? I'm working with them on it, but the fear isn't going away anytime soon. Last summer Angel and Courtney got so many stings close together, I was worried that they would develop an allergic reaction. We have tons of plants, herbs, flowers, and clover...so those bees really love our yard! Most stings happened when the girls stepped or sat on them somehow.

I've had a few bad stings myself, so I don't blame them at all for their fear! I'm just telling them that there is nothing they can do about the bees, and they'll just have to get used to them, and if they don't bother them, they won't get stung. A child' s fear, however, is too irrational to be solved that easy! And they know for a fact, that accidents happen, even when the bee isn't "out to get them".

One good helper is Christopher! He is into collecting bugs, and so he has lost all fear of them. Anytime an insect is seen our house, out comes the bug jar! We then get to examine it in detail over the next 24 hrs before he releases it outside. At least the girls aren't afraid of a the wasp when it's IN Christopher's jar. This week the guests in Christopher's jar have been: a spider, a crane fly, a moth, and a few big wasps.