For the second year and a row Tanglewood’s third graders came to K13 ready to build bat houses made from only wood. 

The third graders from Tanglewood Elementary had an important job on Oct. 15 – creating bat houses with the production method class.

It was pretty fun teaching them and showing them how the tools work with the wood. I would definitely do it again,” junior David Essex Flanagan said. 

Even if their just in her class for a moment, Mrs. DeLange always pushes for every student to get some experience out of her class no matter what. 

“I want kids to have skills coming out of my classroom, whether they go into the field or not, and have experiences that they may not have otherwise,” teacher Ruth DeLange said. “It’s a confidence thing for some kids, you know?,” teacher Ruth DeLange said.

A range of students in DeLange’s production methods class had an enjoyable experience helping out the little students and showing them how to construct a mini house. 

“Honestly they were so hyper and so crazy it was just fun to be around, I blinked and there was four more kids next to me,” senior Wyatt Goodin said. 

The production methods teacher Ruth DeLange has had a long experience with younger kids, she worked around them for 21 years so she was comfortable about how the event would go in the following days. 

“Last year I was expecting fifth graders and I was very surprised to learn they weren’t,” DeLange said. “I originally started at the middle school, so younger kids messing around with tools is almost kind of second nature for me,” teacher Ruth DeLange said.

Building bat houses can be a very impactful form of education for younger students, especially because it instills tactical learning. 

“A third grade teacher at Tanglewood Eve Turell contacted me last year and asked me if I wanted to build bat houses and after I learned about it, I was like oh how exciting because I love having projects where big kids and little kids work together. The little kids get so happy, and it’s a good experience for my older kids,” teacher Ruth DeLange said. 

Even though this event is caused by a common love for projects, this is still something important that contributes to the future. Due to a combination of factors, bats are facing a huge population decline, with around 52% of North American bats facing extinction in the next 15 years, according to the National Park Service .  

Teaching younger kids the importance of helping the environment is a unique way to give back to nature and helps it continue to grow. Bringing hands-on projects directs younger students into more of an optional path, allowing them to learn what they like and dislike. 

“I am a firm believer in teaching kids things when they’re little so they can decide either if they like it or if they don’t like it, I like giving them that skill set to fall back on,” DeLange said.