Fireflies: Twinkling Lights of the Meadow

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Fireflies in a Jar

Have you ever gone out on a summer evening to catch fireflies. They flit and fly everywhere. Soon you have five and then six. One escapes and then you catch two more. In the morning you let them go.

These wonderful experiences of childhood may be disappearing. With city lights and urban sprawl fireflies may disappear forever.

Dozens of activities, games and projects make learning about these bright little insects come to life while teaching skills to beginning readers across the curriculum.

The Firefly Star: A Hispanic Folk Tale
The Very Lonely Firefly Puppet Theater
The Very Lonely Firefly Puppet Theater

more...

Firefly Reading

Fireflies turn on their lights to read

Photo Credit: Girl Reading, 1888
on Flickr, Creative Commons.

Lay out a green shag rug to make the reading corner look like a meadow. Put some fireflies in a basket near the bookshelf or on the edge of the rug. Put out a basket of small penlight flashlights. Display lots of firefly books. You are now ready for Silent Reading Time.

Ask your little fireflies to each pick out a book, and use their flashlights to read. It is not only fun to use the flashlights but it also helps them to focus on the words.

Fireflies in the Night: R...

Sam and the Firefly

Fireflies (Reading Rainbo...

Anji Mountain Bamboo Rug...

The World of Eric Carle P...

Catch the Firefly Reading Bug

Firefly Bulletin Board

Make a large jar on a bulletin board with a nighttime meadow behind it. Add some fireflies in the distance.

Use fly shaped paper to write the names of books the children have read and attach them to the jar. As each child adds a firefly ask him or her to tell about the story. Did they learn something new about fireflies? Would they recommend this book to someone else in the class? Why or why not?

Soon your firefly meadow will be filled with fireflies.

When Lightning Comes in a Jar

by: Ernest L. Polacco

Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/15/2009)

The Firefly Star: A Hispanic Folk Tale

Sandra Robbins introduces readers to El Dia de los Reyes, Three Kings' Day, celebrated by Hispanics on January 6th, in this original folktale.

Each year the kings travel through the sky on their Royal Camels and place presents in boxes of grass that children leave out for the animals.

One year, however, the jealous Royal Horses enlist the fireflies into forming a star that leads the camels in circles, thus making the kings angry.

Disaster is averted by the two smallest creatures in the palace, a mouse and a ladybug.

The Firefly Star: MobiStories: digital books. Downloadable to your iPhone, iPod, computer or Portable DVD Player. Fireflies that give the gift of time.

The Very Lonely Firefly Puppet Theater

Fireflies on Stage

This is the Children's Puppet Theate, at the Stonington Free Library in Conn. designed and produced by local artists Mark & Bibiana King in memory of Mr. Frederic C. Paffard, Jr.

Setiting up a puppet theater in your classroom inspired by the one from the Stonington Library will encourage the children to reenact the stories that you are reading about fireflies. You may be surprised at the amount of factual information that is conveyed in these plays that the children put on.

The Very Lonely Firefly Puppet Theater

Set up a puppet theater in the room and model often how to put on a puppet show and soon you will have amazing shows being put. One day the children reenacted the lifecycle of the Firefly for the 2nd graders who were duly impressed with the show.

The World of Eric Carle Plush - 5" Plush Finger Puppet The Very Lonely Firefly

Amazon Price: $5.49 (as of 12/16/2009)

The Very Lonely Firefly

by: Eric Carle

Amazon Price: $15.63 (as of 12/16/2009)

Firefly Poems and Songs

Fireflies in Jar
Morrow, Anthony
Buy at AllPosters.com

"Fireflies in Flight" to the tune of "Camptown Races"

Fireflies come out at night.
Blink, blink, blink, blink.
Showing off their little lights
In the summer sky!

Can you see them glow
Flying to and fro?
Fireflies come out at night
In the summer sky!

Print this poem on a poster board large enough for everyone to see the words. Use a flashlight to point to the words while chanting together.

Going Buggy! @ lilteacher.com: "Fireflies in Flight" to the tune of "Camptown Races"

Firefly Poetry

Photo Credit: Firefly
on Flickr, Creative Commons.

To A Baby Firefly (Preschool)

Little baby firefly
when your night is through
does your mommy tuck you in
and tell you she loves you?

Does she kiss your forehead
and say in morning's light...
'Day-day little sleepyhead,
close your eyes, put out your light.'

C.J. Heck

To A Baby Firefly by C.J. Heck: To A Baby Firefly by C.J. Heck

Firefly Flashlights

for Read the Room Activities

Firefly Flashlights can be used for Read the Room Pointers.

Use the flashlights to spy words written on charts, posters and Word Walls. The flashlights help the children to focus on the words.

For Spelling practice, use the flashlights to point to the letters on the Alphabet for each word.

Word Wall Practice:

Firefly, firefly, oh so bright,
Shine on a word with your light.

Everyone quickly turns on their flashlight and shines it on the right word.

Lightning Bugs Beetle

Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)

Manhattan Toy Lightning Bugs Dragonfly Flashlight

Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)

Firefly Words

Fireflies are insects. They all have six legs, three body parts, and are invertibrates.

Unscramble Insect Words: EnchantedLearning.com: Unscramble Insect Words: A printout about Insects words for early readers: ant, bee, fly, moth, caterpillar, beetle, butterfly, dragonfly, grasshopper, mosquito.

Firefly Science

Before you let the fireflies go in the morning take a close look at them.

1. Can you see how many legs they have?
2. What do you notice about their wings?
3. Can you tell them apart?

Take a digital picture of each one, name it and tell how each one is different from all the others.

Draw a picture of one of your fireflies and color it in with colored pencils.

Fireflies in the Night: Revised Edition (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

by: Judy Hawes

Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 12/16/2009)

Tiny Wings

by: Catherine Basten

Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)

Creatures of the Night

by: Stephen J. Brooks

Amazon Price: $12.71 (as of 12/16/2009)

Firefly Life Cycle

Fireflies, also known as lightning bugs, are soft-winged beetles, which belong to the Lampyridae family. They lay eggs in damp soil along ponds, rivers and in wetlands. The larvae live in these moist habitats where they feast on slugs, snails, and other invertebrates. After pupating, they emerge as adults.

Fireflies (All Aboard Science Reader)

by: Megan E. Bryant

Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 12/15/2009)

The Life Cycle of a Beetle

by: Molly Aloian, Bobbie Kalman

Amazon Price: (as of 12/15/2009)

Firefly Math

Count the Fireflies

For each child you will need a plastic jar and 10 fireflies.

Mathmat: Start with all the fireflies on a dark blue paper above the jar.

1. Ask: How many fireflies are in the jar? (0)
2. Write the number 0 and then the + symbol.
3. Catch a firefly and add it to the jar.
4.Now how many fireflies are in the jar? (1)
5. Finish the number sentence. 0+1=1
Repeat until you have written all the number sentences to 10+0=10.

Lima Bean Math

Make Fireflies: Lay out a bag of dried lima beans. Spraypaint them neon green on one side. Use a permanent marker to draw the wings and eyes.

When dry, draw six legs on each and then paint the tail of the fireflies with glow in the dark paint.

Cheap hairspray works well as a fixative.

Ten Flashing Fireflies

Glow In The Dark Paint-4...

SEYMOUR 00088 16-668 SPRA...

Lima Beans, Large, 1 lb.

Sharpie Fine Point Perman...

Firefly Art

Paint a Night of Fireflies

Use glow in the dark paint and Q-tips to make fireflies on a dark blue paper. You might also like to add grass, trees, and bushes with watered down black paint.

In one classroom that I taught in we had a bathroom with no windows. We hung pictures of fireflies on the inside of the door where sunlight could shine on them when no one was in the bathroom but if you went inside and closed the door with the lights off you could see and count them.

Glow In The Dark Paint-4 Ounces

Amazon Price: $3.14 (as of 12/16/2009)

Firefly Thumbprint Art

Ed Emberley uses colorful step-by-step drawings show how to turn your thumbprints into all kinds of animals. I find that this is a skill that helps young children illustrate their stories when they are hesitant about drawing.

Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book

by: Ed Emberley

Amazon Price: $8.63 (as of 12/16/2009)

"Fireflies At Night" Painting Process

"Fireflies At Night" Painting Process Recorded

I'm a children's book illustrator, and since I get a lot of question regarding my process, I thought I would make some painting videos for my website. Enjoy!

Runtime: 187
13887 views
12 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Firefly Social Studies

Fireflies in the News!

Already fireflies have disappeared from many of their native habitats, from the suburbs and neighborhoods around many major metropolitan areas. Some have countered that mosquito spraying and light pollution have been factors contributing to the demise of fireflies.

Lights out? Experts fear fireflies are dwindling - Yahoo! News: BAN LOMTUAN, Thailand - Preecha Jiabyu used to take tourists on a rowboat to see the banks of the Mae Klong River aglow with thousands of fireflies.

These days, all he sees are the fluorescent lights of hotels, restaurants and highway overpasses. He says he'd have to row a good two miles to see trees lit up with the magical creatures of his younger days.

The fate of the insects drew more than 100 entomologists and biologists to Thailand's northern city of Chiang Mai last week for an international symposium on the "Diversity and Conservation of Fireflies."

Firefly Magazine

The Rising Firefly magazine deals with topics such as health, philosophy, spirituality and culture. We encourage all people to grow and learn from each other and we promote cultural diversity.

Rising Firefly

Amazon Price: $25.00 (as of 12/16/2009)

Firefly Music

Glow Worm Song

The Glow Worm

Amazon Price: $0.99 (as of 12/16/2009)

The Glow-Worm (Sheet Music)

by: Paul Lincke

Amazon Price: (as of 12/16/2009)

Glow Worm Song

A glow worm is a firefly in the larva state.

HANK THOMPSON - GLOW-WORM LYRICS: Glow-Worm lyrics performed by Hank Thompson

Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer
Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer
Lead us lest too far we wander
Love's sweet voice is calling yonder
Shine little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer
Hey, there don't get dimmer, dimmer
Light the path below, above
And lead us on to love!

Glow little glow-worm, fly of fire
Glow like an incandescent wire
Glow for the female of the species
Turn on the AC and the DC
This night could use a little brightnin'
Light up you little ol' bug of lightnin'
When you gotta glow, you gotta glow
Glow little glow-worm, glow

Glow little glow-worm, glow and glimmer
Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer
Thou aeronautical boll weevil
Illuminate yon woods primeval
See how the shadows deep and darken
You and your chick should get to sparkin'
I got a gal that I love so
Glow little glow-worm, glow

Glow little glow-worm, turn the key on
You are equipped with taillight neon
You got a cute vest-pocket Master
Which you can make both slow and faster
I don't know who you took a shine to
Or who you're out to make a sign to
I got a gal that I love so
Glow little glow-worm, glow
Glow little glow-worm, glow
Glow little glow-worm, glow
Glow little glow-worm, glow

Fireflies on the Move

Firefly Flashlight Game

Flashlight Game: Firefly - and More Great Family Fun Game Ideas: This summer night's game is illuminating kids' play.

In this nocturnal game of chase, a flashing light is the clue to catching an elusive quarry.

WHAT YOU NEED:
3 or more players
A flashlight

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Once it's dark, give a chosen player (the firefly) a flashlight and have her head away from the group with the light off, silently counting to 60 as she goes.

2. When the firefly reaches 60, she must flash the light once.

3. The rest of the players then count to 100 before setting out in pursuit of the firefly, who tries to avoid capture by hiding and changing directions.

4. But here's the catch: she must continuously count to 60, flashing the light each time she reaches the end of her count.

5. The first person to tag the firefly takes her place for the next round.

VARIATIONS:
Have the firefly alternate flashing the light with chirping. To find her, the other players will have to listen as well as watch.

The Lightening Bug Poll

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Look who's Twittering about Fireflies:

By TwitterButtons.com

KissMonika Dec 11, 2009 @ 12:36 pm

Girls' evening tonight... just me & the two kitties... Which movie should we watch? "The Nanny Diaries" or "Fireflies in the Garden"?

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Insect Lenses

Old Black Fly Unit Study

Old Black Fly's been buzzing around and lands on an alphabet's worth of spilled drips and drops of food. This poem is fun to read aloud with it's lilting rhyme has makes you want to dance. Use Old Black Fly to start a unit on insects that will inspi...

Firefly Literacy Bag

Literacy Bags are filled with books and activities for children to take home and share with their parents. The include a fiction, a non-fiction book, a stuffed animal and a few activities as well as a journal to record the ways in which the child enjoyed the activities and stories.

I Love Fireflies Tote Bag

From: Byteland Art & Design: Hearts, Flags, Dogs & Love

Price: 19.49

Firefly Lapbook

Firefly Lapbook: This is a free Firefly lapbook. We have free insect lapbooks, bible lapbooks, preschool lapbooks, and character lap books.
The Grouchy Ladybug Lapbook: The Grouchy Ladybug Lapbook created by Linda Rose