Bats and Moons

The week before Halloween kids are abuzz with the anticipation of trick or treating and costumes and candy! It seemed the perfect time to learn about...bats! I read several books about bats and asked the question: Do you think bats are cute or creepy? Before learning about bats I was surprised at how many children thought bats were creepy and they were afraid of bats! Ask your child to tell you about the Bumblebee bat! It is the smallest bat in the world with its body measuring approximately 1 inch long and a wing span of only 6 inches.

I read this book about the Bumblebee bat...

...and showed them pictures of the Bumblebee bat...







...and by the time we took a vote, more children thought bats were cute and not creepy! And they all thought bats were beneficial! They learned that the little brown bat (found here in Vermont!) can eat as many as 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour!

Each child voted and then tallied the results and created a graph to show the class results. Then they made a bat to attach to their graph!

In addition to studying bats, your children created the most beautiful moon paintings-each with a bat! They are hanging in the hall outside the classroom, but when they come home I bet you'll want to hang them in a very special place! They were so serious while mixing the shades of blue and I think each and every painting is a work of art! Bravo!