We did a 2 week mini-unit study on Bats.  Friends and family were unsupportive because of false information about bats.  Bats are not scary and weird creatures who suck you blood and get caught in your hair.  Actually they are highly intelligent mammals that are most closely related to a monkey and are very beneficial and necessary to our environment.

BOOKS

Tuttle, M.D. & D. Hensley. 1993. The Bat House Builders Handbook. Bat Conservation International, Austin, TX. (order at Bat Conservational)

Cannon, J. 1995. Stellaluna. Scholastic, Inc. New York.

Earle, A. 1995. Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats. HarperCollins Publisher, Inc., New York, NY, 32 pp.

Greenaway, F. and J. Young. 1991. Amazing Bats (Eyewitness Juniors, No. 13). Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, 29 pp.

For more reading resources check out the Reading List at Bat Conservation International and check your local library.
 
FIELD TRIP

Museums - Bat World Sanctuary - If you live in North Central Texas be sure to goto Bat World Sanctuary in Mineral Wells.  This is the only Bat Sanctuary in the world of its kind.

WRITING PROJECT

I had my older child write for gospel tracts from Incredible Bats and information/brochures from Bat Conservation International.  This was a great time to practice writing skills and they love getting things in the mail.  The latter organization sends them a patch with a bat on it so if you might want to have each of your children write.

BUILD A BAT HOUSE

We built a bat house using plans from:  Tuttle, M.D. & D. Hensley. 1993. The Bat House Builders Handbook. Bat Conservation International, Austin, TX.  (order at Bat Conservational)

We built it so late in the spring that it was too late to put it up.  We have it ready to put up late this winter. You can also buy plans or kits.  Here is one for sale BCM small bat house.  Check the links section on this page to find many more.  Almost all the sites have some for sale.

VOCABULARY / SPELLING WORDS

amazing

attic

burrow

cave

chirp

climbing

creepy

darting

discover

echolocate

flight

forest

frequency

habitat

healthy

hearing

insects

looping

mammal

membranes

mosquito

newborn

nocturnal

nursery

pollinate

rafters

senses

squeak

swirling

temperature

vampire