Bats - Day 1

Writing/ Phonics

Preparation:

No Prep for this one

Materials

• Bubble Gum
• Paper
• Pen

Teaching

1. You and your child get to chew gum until it's soft and pliable.
2. Stretch the gum out of your mouth so it makes a long strand. Say the word "Bat" very slowly as you stretch the gum out of your mouth.
3. Have your child stretch out the gum (and the word) several times.
4. Ask your child, "What is the first sound?  Write the letter that makes that sound. What is the second sound. What is the letter that makes that sound?  Write it down.  What is the third sound? What letter makes that sound?  Write it down."

Modifications:

If your child doesn't know the letters tell them the letter and write it for them.

Reading

Preparation:

Create a small poster using this poem:
Little Brown Bat flies at night.
Eating bugs during his flight
Bat flies home it gets light
Sleeping upside down with his eyes shut tight.
You can embellish the poster with pictures, etc.

Materials

• Poster
• Marker or crayon in 2-3 colors
• Pointer (this could be your finger or a wand, etc)

Teaching

1. Read the poem to your child a few times, pointing to each word as you say it.
2. Have your child read it with you.
3. Point to the word bat and underline it, say, "You know this word.  It's the word bat.  How many times do we see the word 'bat?'  Help me find the word 'Bat.'"
4. Let the child point out the word "bat."
5. Point out rhyming words at the end of each line.  Circle the rhyming words. Have your child say the rhyming words with you.
6. Have your child color the word brown a light brown color the word still shows.
7. Say, "Look at all the words you know! You know Bat (point to the word bat).  You know brown (point to the word brown) and you know our rhyming word family (point to rhyming words and say them).
8. Say the poem again, letting child point to the words "brown," "bat," and rhyming words.  Put the poem somewhere low and encourage your child to read the poem whenever they want,pointing to the words as thy go.  Have your child read the poem to the family pet, dad, mom, grandma, grandpa, a stuffed animal, etc.

Math

Preparation:
Create a flip book with 5 sections. (see Spiders Day 2 for instructions)
Materials
Flip book
15 Bat stickers, or 15 small bat pictures and a glue stick (I just used clip art and sized it small)

Teaching

1. Have your child label the flaps 1-5 with your help forming the numbers
2. Have them stick or glue the corresponding number of bats under the flap to the number on the flap.  (One bat under flap marked 1, etc)
3. Tell them to find the 3 bats, the 2 bats, etc.

4. Like every poem, or book, or flip book you make, put this in a special bucket and tell your child that he wrote these cool books and he can read them any time he wants to.

Book
Preparation:
Plan a visit to your bookstore or Library (I prefer library) and get three books on bats for the week.
You want to find books with no more than a few sentences on each page, and large illustrations or photographs.
I like:
Bats by Gail Gibbons
Materials
Book
Paper
Pen
Teaching
1. Fold Paper into three sections labeling first section with a "K", second with a "W", third with an "L".
2.  Ask your child, "What do you know about bats?"
3.  Write what they know under "K" section (K=Know)
4.  Ask your child what they want to know about bats (W=Want to know)
5.  Write questions in column under "W". 
6.  Read Book, talking as you read about the things you are learning
7.  Write under "L" the things learned (L=Learned).
** Don't expect a long list in any of the categories, 2-3 things is good!
Art
Preparation:
Cut a black or brown piece of paper into a medium circle (bat head), large oval  (bat body), two small triangles (ears) and two rectangles (bat wings)
Materials
Black or brown paper, cut
Glue

Teaching

1. Accordion fold rectangles for wings.

2. Glue pieces together to form bat.