Bats

"They're creepy and they're cooky, mysterious and spooky, they're altogether ooky..." That line from the "Addams Family" theme song pretty much sums up most people's opinion of bats. At least it was mine, until we started studying them. Bats are not creepy or spooky. They are amazing, helpful creatures that this world would be a nasty place without. Part of bat's public opinion problem is that they are nocturnal. They come out in the dark. Darkness is associated with so many scary, evil things. Therefore, it is logical to assume that bats are scary and evil. Bats are also associated with Halloween and vampires. Let's put that to rest once and for all. Yes, there are a few species of sanguiniverous bats. That is a big vocabulary word that the kids and I learned. If you studied animals at all, then you know the "iverous" part of the word has to do with what animals eat. And, if you've studied Latin or any of her related languages you will be able to figure out that the "sanguin" part means blood. But these saguiniverous bats do not go around turning into vampires or drinking human blood. The animals they do bite are usually sleeping and are less affected by the bat than by mosquitoes. The majority of the bats we have in the U.S. are insectivores. I don't know about you, but anything that eats insects immediately is a friend of mine. If there is any creature I am not a big fan of, it's insects.

Yesterday, we had some friends over for the afternoon. The kids wanted to do some art projects. I instructed them they needed to make bats. And then I left them to their own creativities. The 10 and 11 year old boys immediately asked if Batman was allowed. "Of course," I said. They did not end up drawing Batman, but instead plain old bats. It was the scenery that went along with the bats where it got a little interesting, including alien ships. The girls and my 6yo ds had very different ideas. Their bats involved glitter. Lots and lots of glitter that ended up on the bats, the sky, my dining room table, the kitchen tile, the living room carpet. But, it was well worth it to see the resulting pictures. They took something that most people think is scary and turned it into something sparkly, shiny, and pleasant to look at. After the glue is well dried, I am going to attempt to scan their pictures without glittering up the scanner.

Flying Creatures

We have been studying birds for several weeks now, but I have been lax in posting about it. I am thoroughly in love with this study. The reading just cracks everyone up. I will read part of a section, and then stop for discussion. We always come up with some great conversation about what I just read. Then I will start reading again, and I swear almost every time, it will say exactly what we just talked about. The kids have been drawing some amazing pictures of birds. We built birdhouses. We made bird feeders out of juice bottles. I will have to see if I can scan some of the kid's pictures and post them here. I have also been having a blast photographing birds. It all started several weeks ago when we went on a nature scavenger hunt. I did not want the kids actually gathering all the "nature stuff" on the list. I am more of an indoor kinda girl, and don't do well with dirt, bugs, or most other outdoor stuff. So I thought, rather than collecting the things on the list, we would photograph them. Since then, I have been taking my camera everywhere and getting pictures of all sorts of different birds. It probably helps that we also just got a new camera that I absolutely love. It is a Nikon Coolpix P80. I highly recommend it for the non-photographers like me. It is so fun and easy to use, that even I can take good pictures with it. And don't get me started about the stop motion feature it has. I have gotten some great shots of birds using that. So last night, I was looking online at ordering some owl pellets and some caterpillars or butterfly larvae. I think those would be great fun to add to our lessons. Next week we are talking about nesting. Our project is to see if we can build a nest as well as birds. Of course, that involves mud, dirt, and other "yucky" stuff. I may have to look for an alternative craft, that uses some materials that are less gross.