This is part of my Fifteen Minute Focus series, and is an intro to learning about bats and making a craft together.

Supplies:

A toy bat or a non-fiction book about bats. TP tubes, googly eyes or eye stickers, glue sticks and school glue; paper bat wings cut out and triangle bits of paper for ears; bits of brown fake fur, hole punch, pipe cleaners cut into quarters – 2 per kid. A marker. Trays to work on.  Blindfold or mask. Book. (If you have a group of older 4’s with good fine motor skills, they could cut out the bat wings themselves, and cut the pipe cleaners. I pre-prepped those.)

What is a Bat?

Either hold up a toy bat to talk about, or read a few pages out of a non-fiction book about bats (Like The Bat by Elise Gravel). Sample points to share: bats fly but they are not birds – they’re mammals! They have 4 limbs and fur – they can be as tiny as a bumblebee or as large as an eagle. But many are like a mouse with wings. They typically eat insects or fruit. They are nocturnal – most active at night, and they sleep in the daytime hanging upside down.

Bat Craft

I got this idea from https://buggyandbuddy.com/hanging-bat-craft-kids/ That site has a template for bat wings.

1. Put two eyes on the TP tube near top end. Use marker to draw a smile.
2. Punch two holes for the legs near bottom edge. Thread a pipe cleaner through each one. Twist it to hold it in place. Bend one end of each pipe cleaner into a hook that will let you hang the bat upside down.
3. Use a glue stick to glue the wings on the back. Leave it laying on the tray so that glue can dry while you do the next step. Glue on belly hair. Leave to dry.

Supplemental Book and/or Songs

I am Bat by Morag Hood is a very fun silly book.

Sing this song (source), to the tune of Frere Jacques
Bats are sleeping, Bats are sleeping;
Upside down, upside down
They don’t like the light; They’re waiting for the night
They’ll fly around, without a sound

Or this one (source), to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle
Flutter, flutter, little bat.
How I wonder where you’re at.
Up above the world so high.
Like a mouse who’s learned to fly.
Flutter, flutter, little bat,
Glad there are no flying cats!

Play Optional Echolocation Game

There are different ways to play this. (One of many sources for the game.)

First, explain that bats hunt at night and there isn’t much light, so they use sound echoes to help them find things. Teach how during our game, when “it” claps once the “bug(s)” clap back twice.

If you have at least two adults in the room, one puts on the blindfold. The other takes turns pointing at a kid to be the bug. When the “it” adult claps, only that bug claps back. The “it” adult points to where the sound came from – are they right? did they catch the bug?

Designate one child to be the bat. Blindfold the “bat” and have him stand with the other children forming a circle around him. Designate three or four to be insects. The child who is blindfolded then claps, the other kids clap back – the blindfolded one points. Did he catch anyone? If so, they become “it”.