Gone Batty!

We like bats over here. Batman, bat houses, bats + baseballs, etc. My mom actually makes bat houses, so we talk with the kids quite often about the many benefits of bats. And here is some of our summer fun with bats.
The Library hosted a special bat day with visitors from our state's bat conservatory. The kids got to see live bats from all over the world! Very cool! We ran into a ton of our homeschool friends there. Also this summer we happened across a couple of drowned bats, which we showed off (look, don't touch) to the group of kids we had for a backyard bbq. (Pass the potato salad, oh, and did you see our dead bats?) Ewwww!!! But the kids LOVED it. :)

Some great books on bats. Also, check out this free unit study on Stellaluna from the Homeschool Share! :)

Unlocking Math Moments

I'm often asked how I meet the needs of my kids during the school day when they are at different levels/grades. There is a kind of art to it, and it's not always smooth and easy. But there are several ways you can incorporate the same activity for various skill sets. For instance, this morning, we were using a box of keys for our math manipulatives. After we completed our lesson, I had the kids use the keys for extras. My preschool son simply counted the keys and matched the number of keys to little number cards. Perfect practice for his age! My first grader solved simple addition equations by filling in the blank with the number of keys needed to meet the solution. Don't you just love fun ways to unlock problems?