Going Batty

This image is a bat. I love bats. Quite batty, I am, you might say. Every year I teach an thematic unit about bats. My students learn scientific terms like echolocation, mamiferous, and nocturnal. I am always quite impressed by their ability to make connections to their world or other texts they read. I also like to point this high level academic language (first grade, mind you) to people who tell me that we need to raise our expectations. This year, I hope to raise money to get the bat experts from the California Bat Conservation Fund. They will bring bats in to the classroom. This image is from China. In China the bat is a symbol for happiness. The bat mosaic is in the form of a circle. You walk around it and it is supposed to bring you continued happiness. I'm getting there. Catharsis. I love to watch bats flitting about at dusk. I guess the Chinese were right, happiness. It brings a certain calmness to the mind.

Want to learn more about these beneficial mammals: http://www.batcon.org/home/default.asp