We've seen bat boxes for sale around $40, so thought the $5 charge for materials was quite reasonable. Kits were made with all needed construction supplies. One of the helpers who cut boards stopped in to see the fruits of his effort--I'm sure that was neat to see all these families working on their boxes. I thought of the many hours in putting this together. Thank you!
We started with a bluebird house. I've read about the nesting preferences of bluebirds so noticed the size of hole (important) and the deep nature of the box. There is also a way to open the box and clean the nest out each new season. We've had around 5 bluebirds hanging around our bird feeders the last few weeks. I read they are not typically feeder birds, but they hang out on top of the tetherball pole and bird feeders.
This family was so cute. Each girl had a baggy full of change for the bird house. And they were making them with their mom--loved it!
The boys worked together on their projects, with me helping as needed. Okay, a fair amount, but they were involved the whole time. It's a team project, not an individual effort.
I guess this is considered a two-chamber bat box. When we messed up, it was nice to have someone come over and help us fix our mistake--thanks, Tom!
We weren't the only ones. :-)
This was a great team effort. We need to caulk the bat box and paint it black soon. Then we need to find good places to hang each. While I've read basics, we were also given instructions on putting these up and what we might expect. In the process of finding places, the boys will also learn more about the preferences of these animals as well.
We followed up with a little ice cream
If you'd like to make your own, there are plans various places online. This is a fun family project. With the kits already assembled, this was an easy way to have ownership in what we made. Looking forward to hanging these up!