Here’s a fun Halloween craft for preschoolers to foster plenty of learning fun. This Five Little Bats Finger Puppet Playset is a festive way for kids to work on counting and number recognition! The bat finger puppets are quick and easy to make. The kids may want to perform their own creative puppet shows too!
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We have been enjoying lots of Autumn and Halloween themed books and poems in our household lately. Between battling colds, and rainy weather, it is the perfect time for snuggling under blankets and reading good books. When we read this poem this afternoon, we just knew we needed a finger puppet playset to go along with it!
Five Black Bats Poem
Five black bats
Ready to soar;
One stayed behind,
Now there are four.
Four black bats
Hanging from a tree;
One fell down,
Now there are three.
Three black bats
Wondering what to do;
One flew away,
Now there are two.
Two black bats
Sitting in the sun;
One fell asleep,
Leaving only one.
One lonesome bat
With no place to go,
Went hiding in a cave,
Now there are zero.
Isn’t that the cutest?
Here’s how to make a five little bats finger puppet set of your own:
Emily could not wait to start playing with these! They are made from black craft foam. We cut 10 pieces 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inches. I used 5 of them to cut out bat shapes, and the other five became the finger bands. Emily loves attaching googly eyes! Who doesn’t??
Just a few quick stitches to hold them together, and they were done!
She has already asked for a tote bag to keep them in…. I happen to have some pumpkin patterned fabric that I think will be perfect. Another excuse to get crafty?? Bring it on!
Very cute 🙂
Dear Valerie,
I am going to find googly eyes on the TV again, aren't I?
Love,
Mark
Oooooh, these would be great to put in Halloween treat bags!
Great idea for a rainy day. What is better than a a story on a cozy couch and making crafts.
Very cute – fun poem, too!
These are adorable. And yes, they're not complete without googley eyes on them!!!
Of course you needed a bat playset to go along with the book. LOL… Any excuse for you two to get to crafting! They are adorable and I look forward to seeing the tote bag. 🙂
Oh my goodness, I love them! C LOVES bats! You are so clever!
very funny and very tender too valery!
GET OUT these are fabulous and I love that poem!
Those are so cute! I have to make some of those.
That poem sounds familiar. I think my mom used to read us that. She was a preschool teacher.
fun! LOL at the googley eyes!!!
I made home made pumpkin play doh for the preschool party goody bags — included plastic cookie cutters that I got on sale (16 for $5) and placed it in a cellophane bag with a copy of the recipe attached… fun and totally frugal! And so I thought of you!
Too cute! The picture of Emily loving on the bat is so adorable!
@ Jessica — Thank you!!
@ Mark — How can I…er… I mean, Emily…. resist??
@ SkylarKD — Great idea!! We are sooo going to add some of these in the treat bags for Emily's friends! 🙂
@ Anonymous — It really doesn't get any better than that, does it? I'm planning much of the same for tomorrow too.
@ Marie — Seriously! I need to get more googly eyes… our supply is looking pretty sad now.
@ Petula — I feel like you know me so well. 🙂
@ Christy — I remember reading about C's obsession with bats on your blog. We went to a local cavern in hopes of seeing some, but there were no natural entrances, so no bats!! Boo hoo! One flew into our house once when we were first married. I frah-reaked OUT and Mark came to the rescue by trapping it in a brown paper bag. My hero! Funny… I love seeing them in caves, but NOT IN OUR HOUSE!! Eek!!
The bat was doing laps in the living room, and landed on the cuckoo clock. It was nearly invisible there. After catching and releasing it, I went upstairs to figure out how it got in (1.5" gap in a half-screened window) and noticed that it pooped on the sink. 🙁
If you ever have to catch a bat in a house, wait for it to land on a wall and hold a paper grocery bag upside down above it. Slowly slide the bag down, dragging it along the wall. Eventually, the bat will get startled and fly up into the bag. Close it up and take it outside. Less messy than a tennis racquet.
@ Mark — All this time, and I never knew that it pooped in the sink. I think I was better off not knowing that information. It didn't get on my toothbrush, did it? Blleeccchhh!!
@Valerie
I used your toothbrush to clean the sink. I didn't tell you??
sorry.
@ Mark — Hey!!!
**shudders**
Ewwwwwwwwwwww…..
this is such a simple yet great idea! 🙂 thanks for sharing
Hi Valerie
Those bats look oh so cute, nearly sweet enough to help me overcome my fear of bats!
When I was still teaching, I was staying back late one night to finish proof reading report cards. While engrossed in this task, a bat flew up a set of stairs and into my office. I screamed and the louder I screamed the more the bat circled me. What a sight this must have been. I ended up leaping over my desk, running like a woman possesed out of my office and next door into the Principal's office. The staff downstairs heard all of this commotion and came to my resuce. The story went around the school the next day like wild fire – what a tale for the students to hear about me, their Deputy Principal! Not so funny at the time, but the next day it was hilarious.
very cute! you and mark crack me up!
Extremely creative, very inexpensive and many hours of good times!
Okay, these are adorable – I don’t know how I missed them, but I’m adding them to my must-do list.