Bring addition to life in your classroom with the buzzing fun of our Buzzing Bees: Addition to 10 Craft! This hands-on resource is designed to support foundational number skills by helping students explore number combinations to 10 through a creative, tactile activity. Whether using painted paddle pop sticks or printed paper templates, students will love crafting their own bee while building essential addition knowledge.

Students begin by creating their bee using black and yellow sticks to represent two parts of an addition sentence. These visual cues help learners connect concrete materials to abstract number facts in a meaningful way. The craft culminates in a written number sentence that matches the pattern on their bee—combining maths and creativity in a highly engaging format.

Buzzing Bees: Addition to 10 Craft is perfect for small group maths rotations, whole-class modelling lessons, or independent exploration during numeracy centres. With the flexibility to use real materials or printable versions, this craft caters to a range of classroom needs while encouraging creative expression and mathematical thinking.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Represent and solve addition problems to 10 using concrete materials
• ✅ Develop understanding of part-part-whole relationships
• ✅ Explore the commutative property of addition
• ✅ Connect physical models to abstract number sentences
• ✅ Build fine motor skills through cutting, painting and assembling

What’s Included:

• Bee backing templates in A4 size
• Printable paper paddle pop stick templates
• Number sentence strips for recording combinations
• Decorative banner for creating a classroom display

Materials Needed:

• Printed templates (or blank card for backing)
• Wooden paddle pop sticks or printed stick templates
• Yellow and black paint or markers
• Glue, scissors, pipe cleaners, and optional googly eyes
• Tissue paper or cellophane for wings (optional)

How to Use:

1. Choose whether students will use real pop sticks or printed templates.
2. If painting, use yellow and black to represent addends and allow time to dry.
3. Assemble the bee body by gluing the sticks or templates onto the bee backing.
4. Decorate with pipe cleaner antennae, stinger, wings, and eyes.
5. Complete the number sentence strip to match the bee’s stripes and attach to the craft.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use during a maths lesson on number bonds to 10
• 💡 Set up as a numeracy centre for hands-on addition practise
• 💡 Create a maths display by hanging finished bees around the included banner
• 💡 Introduce part-part-whole language and connect to number stories
• 💡 Pair with a writing activity where students name their bee and write a short story

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Print on card for durability or enlarge to A3 for bigger impact with jumbo sticks
• 💛 Reuse the bee template across multiple maths lessons with different number targets
• 💛 Use colour coding to help visual learners identify the addends clearly
• 💛 Keep a supply of pre-painted sticks ready for quick lesson prep

Buzzing Bees: Addition to 10 Craft is a bright, hands-on way to explore addition facts and develop number confidence—blending maths, creativity, and classroom fun all in one buzzing activity!