Bat Mobile!

While we are not huge proponents of Halloween, I do like to make crafts with Cutie Face and I do think it's fun to teach her about the world around her...So, when I saw a bat craft hanging in the hallway of her school, I knew I wanted to replicate it with her at home.

I definitely should have noticed that the craft was hanging outside of a 4-year old classroom--it would have given me a clue that perhaps this craft was a little too tricky for a 2-year old!

Regardless of skill level, it was still fun, and Cutie Face enjoyed learning about bats (they fly, they're mammals, they have fur, they hear really well, sometimes they live in caves!) while feeling a sense of accomplishment when the craft was finally hanging in her room. 

Here's a how-to for you to do with your kiddos!

Gather used (and cleaned and dried) soda cans, crease/fold the can about 1/3 of the way from the top. You'll also need black paint and material to make eyes (i used googly eyes), ears/teeth, and wings (i used construction paper) as well as strong glue to put it all together (i used a hot glue gun--DO NOT USE THIS WITH YOUR CHILD PRESENT! they're curious and could get burned)

paint the cans black

 

This is the step where i realized that Cutie Face was a bit too young for this project. She painted every can but only in small splotches and ended up with more on her hands than on the can!

While the paint dries, cut out the bat wings, ears, and teeth--I used construction paper but would have preferred to use felt. Oh well.

make a loop of string so that your bat can dangle and hot glue it in the middle:

 Place a long line of hot glue across the crease of the can 

and press the wing cutout on top:

trim the string

Spiffy little bat (don't look too closely!):

I hung the three bats on a big stick J & C found on a walk

Ta-Da! Finished Bat Mobile!