Happy Halloween!!
I thought bats were the perfect choice for Halloween week! I love it when I learn along with Wyatt, and I learned some interesting things myself this week.
It was such an interesting topic I guess, that Miso wanted to learn too.
On Monday we talked about the parts of a bat, and we looked at a few different kinds of bats that live here in Michigan. There are around 1300 species of bat in the world; Michigan has nine different types living here. We did little bat number puzzles, a bat memory game using little bat cards I made, and read some books.
Tuesday we focused on the different types of homes bats make, what it means to be nocturnal, and echolocation. Then Wyatt made the cutest little bat caves!
Wednesday we talked about bats as pollinators. I loved this topic, of course, and I think we are going to plan a night garden for bats this year. Did you know bats are main pollinators of the cacao plant? We need them for chocolate everyone! Also agave and avocados, so thank a bat if you enjoy margaritas paired with guac and chips.. We also made brownies in preparation for our video chat tea party we were planning on having Thursday with my mom and niece, who were studying bats along with us all week.
I loved our little tea party! We ate our snacks, I read spooky nursery rhymes in honor of Halloween, and just chatted with each other. Dinogirl and Wyatt love to have show and tell over chat, so Mom and I kind of just sat there while they showed each other a bunch of stuff.
When I planned this week, I didn’t know it was also bat week for the NPS! So I had to last minute add some content for that of course. So we talked about Carslbad Caverns, a total bucket list trip for Billy and I, and about the mass bat exodus from the caves. One day! Wyatt also completed a Junior Ranger packet for Carlsbad Caverns and got his certificate, which felt sort of anti-climatic since it was all from our living room. When we visit one day we will do it again.
We also worked on a few other things, letters and the -at word family, math and history. We read books and watched videos and just had a good week. Next week is owl week, one I have been really looking forward to for a while. We love owls!
Resource Round-Up!
Bats Pack from In All You Do (free)
Bat Pollination from Fiddlesticks Education
Bat Cave Craft from Crystal McGinnis
Junior Ranger – Carlsbad Caverns
Books Read:
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Nightsong || Bats at the Beach || Bats in the Band || Good Night Bat! Good Morning, Squirrel!
Listened to/Watched:
Earth Rangers Podcast – Big-Eared Bats and Big Cat Countdown
Wild Kratts – Bat in the Brownies
And that is it for this week! Happy Halloween and stay safe!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
So many great photos and interesting tidbits. I must admit to not really liking bats, primarily because a couple of them got into my A-frame house when I lived in the foothills, and with the high ceilings, etc., it was difficult to get them out. My son caught them in a blanket and carried them out, each time.
I like them better in books…lol
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I have to be honest they are cute from afar. In my home, no thank you. Lol. And good for your son on not killing them!
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Great week of learning!! I used to love teaching about bats to my littles in the library. We made bats and put them on popsicle sticks and wrapped their wings around them and held them upside down. Your crafts and activities and resources are so engaging. Great job!!
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I love that idea!!! That was actually Wyatt’s favorite fact that he learned, that they sleep upside down!
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I loved the bats, I saw them on Instagram, they are so cute!
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Thank you! It was a fun topic!
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Fun topic. Miso is adorable. Happy Halloween!
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Thank you! She is our little fluffball. She was from a hoarder house of Himalayans – the living conditions were horrible for these poor babies. All of us who volunteered at the shelter at the time ended up adopting at least one and the rest went into rescue. She is such a goofball. 🙂
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So awesome! We did bat week last week, and this week that just ended was supposed to be spider week but my oldest was so upset about spider week that we couldn’t even do it. 😂
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Lol!! My niece is doing the same lessons as us, but I tailor them because she can be sensitive to things as well. 🙂
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Aw, man! I need to do a bat unit! Thanks for the idea! Looks like it was tons of fun. My daughter would love learning about bats, though she might be like me and get a little freaked out too.
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Lol!!! I feel like I had so much gathered about this topic lol. I went a little “batty”. Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂 It was fun, but I still don’t want to see a bat near me… although we did have a bat assembly at the school I used to work at, and the guy let me pet the bat. It was kind of neat.
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When I was a kid we attended this church that had a belfry and it was full of bats (or at least I thought it was, being a kid). Well one day I did something that got me in trouble at church. I don’t remember what — except maybe it was the time I stuck my tongue out at the man behind me and he stuck it back out and my parents misunderstood and thought I was being mean. I don’t remember. To preface this — my parents did not paddle us but I guess my mom told Dad to take me out and “talk” to me. He didn’t seem to know what to do so he took me behind the church told me to behave and gently swatted my butt. The whole time I wasn’t even worried about him paddling me (because he never had before). I was worried that the bats were going to get me. lol. They were flying all over outside. I think Dad realized the bats scared me more and cracked up when I kept looking up at the bell tower.
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Literal bats in the belfrey!!! And that is a great story. 🙂 I would have been distracted by the bats as well!
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Now I wouldn’t mind learning about bats like this. I saw the ones that feed on baby seals for their blood and was not impressed.
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Yeah ew. Lol. I like bats from afar! I considered a bat house after this study but decided against it. Lol.
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