Halloween Bat Decoration

What You Need:

• Black construction paper
• Clothespins
• Googly eyes (optional)
• White crayon
• Glue
• Scissors

What You Do:

1. Create the bat's head. Have your child cut out a piece of black paper slightly bigger than the clothespin. Glue the cut-out paper head to the front of the clothespin. Set aside to dry.
2. Use a white crayon to draw a set of bat wings on black paper. Each wing should be about six inches wide. Let your child cut out the wings. (Scissor skills tip: Remind your child to keep their thumb up while using the scissors. The “helping hand” should hold the paper.)
3. Have your child glue the bat wings to the front of the clothespin, directly on top of the paper bat head you attached to it in step 1. Place the wings low enough on the clothespin so that about a half-nch of the bat head is visible at the top.
4. Let your child glue googly eyes to the bat’s head. If you do not have googly eyes, your child can design eyes using the white crayon, stickers, art tape, or other material.
5. Once dry, your bat is ready to display! Use the clothespin to attach the bat to any thin surface. Turn your bat into a refridgerator decoration by gluing a small magnet to the back of the clothespin.

Bats are nocturnal. They sleep during the day and are awake at night. Talk to your child about what it means to be nocturnal. What other animals are nocturnal? After the sun sets, cuddle up with your child, blankets, and a flashlight. Read stories about nocturnal animals, make shadow puppets, and snuggle. It’s fun to be nocturnal when you’re cuddled up with the ones you love!