This week our MWF classes learned about nocturnal animals and bats. We learned some great new vocabulary-nocturnal and echolocation. The craft we created was a very simple project. The children cut out the circle shaped moon on their own. We try to incorporate and offer lots and lots of cutting. We cut simple and complex shapes in our class crafts and in our art center. On Friday, we wrote a report about bats. The children dictate facts they learned and I record as fast as I can. The report will be sent home next week. We will be doing a lot of writing throughout the school year. A three ring binder would be great place to put all the stories and reports that are sent home. Your child will enjoy 'reading' their reports and stories. You may even want to put the pages in clear plastic page covers from the office supply store. We also chose our favorite nocturnal animal. The chart is blank when we start. I say, "Nocturnal-what letter sound do you hear at the beginning of 'nocturnal'? This is repeated for each word. Don't look to closely at the illustrations. They are bad! Each child comes up to the chart and makes a tally mark. We look and see which has the most and the least. We count. We 'write' the numbers on the carpet with our pointer fingers. This activity gives us an opportunity to use words like-greater, more, less, least, and equal. Want to do more? Build or buy a bat house. Check out some books from the local library. Visit the Peoria Zoo to see some bats. http://www.peoriazoo.org/PDFs/Animal%20Factsheets/Mammals/Greater%20Spear-Nosed%20Bat.pdf Want to see bats in flight? Check out YouTube. I would preview videos before showing your child.
