Month October 2013

Brownie’s Halloween

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. This week, we welcome another student, special guest illustrator E. Wright, who donated an illustration to today’s blog. Hello, it’s only five more days until Halloween! Yay! Today I will share a story that I wrote about Brownie the bat on Halloween. Brownie’s Halloween It was one week before Halloween, and Brownie the bat still hadn’t picked a Halloween costume. “What am I going to do?!” Brownie said. “Well, you could be anything you want.” Brownie’s mom said. “I know.” Brownie sighed. “Bye mom. I am going to be late for school,” he said just before he free-fell out the hole in the cave he lived in. “AND NO SILLY TRICKS LIKE THAT!” Brownie’s mom called after him, but Brownie was too far away to hear. “What are you going to be for Halloween?” a familiar voice said. “Hi Stella!” Brownie said. “I’m not sure. What are you going to be?” “I am going to be a canary.” Stella said. Down below, the school bell rang, and Stella and Brownie did a very fast dive. After seven long hours, school finally ended. Stella and Brownie flew home together. “Do you want to come over to my house and have a sleepover?” Stella asked. “Sure.” Brownie said. “Hello Stella!” Brownie’s mom said. “Hi Mrs. Baker. Can Brownie and I have a sleepover at my house today?” Stella said. “Why of course Brownie can have a sleepover with you,” Brownie’s mom said. “She is such a nice girl,” Brownie’s mom said once Stella left to go to her cave.   “I know. I am going up to my room to do my homework. Ok, Mom!” Brownie yelled as he was running up the stairs. After […]

Boosday News

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Welcome to a special edition of Baturday News, which we are posting on Tuesday, or rather, Boosday, because of some computer glitches. We hope you enjoy Rachael’s batty poetry. Hi everybody! Since it is almost Halloween, I thought that the next few weeks should be Halloween related blog entrees. This week, I will share two poems that I wrote. I hope you like them! Brown Bat on a Halloween Night I am a bat all snug and warm Folded wings is my form Until night I sleep For that’s when I eat Now the sun is going down All the children frown They have to sleep But a bat does not weep Now is when I wake But for my mother’s sake I’ll sleep in late But I do not want to wait For my food is flying around And it needs to be found Finally mom wakes I’ll make no mistakes While catching my food I’ll make sure it’s all chewed Then I see a ghost It is holding a pot-roast It looks blue So I fly down to it and yell BOO!!! A Bats’ Halloween From far above, it is such a sight. What I see below gives me a fright. Goblins and ghouls are running about. “Trick or Treat” I hear them shout. Why are those creatures running around? If I stay up here, will I be found? Oh, no! I’ve been seen by a ghost! It’s over there by a lamp post. He holds up his hand high in the air. Should I go? Do I dare? In his hand, he holds something sweet. Should I grab it with my feet? Here I go. His candy I take. Then […]

Tails & Tales

Baturday News is a weekly blog written by Rachael, a 6th grade student and Save Lucy volunteer. Do bats even have a tail? Most bats do but a few bats don’t. The hind legs of many bats are connected by a membrane called the uropatagium. The uropatagium is supported by the legs, the tail bones and something called a calcar. The calcar is part of the ankle. This big brown bat’s tail is partially extended. Here is a bat tale that I like. It is Nigerian folktale that I found on WorldofTales.com. Why the bat flies at night Once upon a time, a bush rat called Oyot was a great friend of Emiong, the bat; they always fed together, but the bat was jealous of the bush rat. When the bat cooked the food it was always very good, and the bush rat said, “How is it that when you make the soup it is so tasty?” The bat replied, “I always boil myself in the water, and my flesh is so sweet, that the soup is good.” He then told the bush rat that he would show him how it was done; so he got a pot of warm water, which he told the bush rat was boiling water, and jumped into it, and very shortly afterwards came out again. When the soup was brought it was as strong and good as usual, as the bat had prepared it beforehand. The bush rat then went home and told his wife that he was going to make good soup like the bat’s. He therefore told her to boil some water, which she did. Then, when his wife was not looking, he jumped into the pot, and was very soon dead. When his wife looked into the pot and saw the […]

Wings!

Bats are in the scientific order Chiroptera which means “hand-wing.” If you look at a bat’s wing, it is supported by the bones of the hand. Bat wings are made of skin that is stretched over the bat’s arm and fingers. The wings go all the way from the arms to the ankles. Bats have five fingers, just like us. They even have a thumb. Bat thumbs have a claw that is used for climbing and holding food. Bat fingers are very long compared to the length of its body. They support the wing. The membrane of the wing is made up of two layers of skin and muscles. When bats fly, they don’t just flap their wings up and down. They move their wings in a way that looks like a swimmer moving his arms while swimming the butterfly stroke. Bats also use their wings to wrap around their food (insects or fruit) to catch or hold it while eating. If you look at the video of the bat at my house, you can see its wings really well. Isn’t it cute?!!! Next time I will talk about bat tails and tales…