Make a 3D paper boat in a bottle! This craft comes with a free printable template to color and cut, making it a perfect summer craft for kids.

I've Got A Little Light And I'm Gonna Let It Shine! Do you study fireflies? I think you'll enjoy the following activities! Click on the link to view/download the entire Firefly Packet or click on the separate links below. Almost every night that my husband Daniel and I are out walking with our puppy, Chloe, we are amazed at the “dance of the fireflies”. As a child I enjoyed catching “lightning” in a jar and then letting these amazing insects go before they died. I was simply fascinated at their ability to illuminate. Firefly Art: 1. Print off my “You light up my life with LOVE.” bookmark, color it and leave it in a special place for that special someone to find. Click on the link to view/print the firefly bookmark. 2. Run off copies of my wax paper winged firefly. Students cut out their brown firefly and glue a yellow "glow" tip to the end. Add wiggle eyes with glue dots. Cut a black pipe cleaner in 1/2. Make it into a V. Scotch tape the V to the back of the firefly. Curl each end around a pen to make antennae. Accordion fold an 11x5 sheet of wax paper, round the edges, fold in the middle and staple to the center of the firefly. Cute as is, or hot glue to a clothespin. Click on the link to view/print wax paper-winged firefly. 3. Buy a package of Popsicle sticks that look like ice cream spoons. Paint the rounded side with neon yellow paint and then a coat of glow-in-the-dark paint. Paint the upper part light brown. Add wiggle eyes and tissue paper wings. If you twist a ½ piece of pipe cleaner around the middle and make it into a ring, you’ve just made yourself a finger puppet; or hot glue a clothespin to the back, add a magnet and hang on your refrigerator to leave love notes to light up someone’s life! 4. Print off my template and make a firefly keepsake jar by dipping your index finger in bright yellow paint, and then making firefly bodies by pressing your fingerprint all over your bug jar. Let the prints dry and then brush on glow-in-the-dark paint with a Q-tip. Add wings with a white pencil or crayon. Put an aluminum foil lid on the top and you have “lightning in a jar!” Click on the link to view/print the firefly keepsake jar templates. This is a great activity to do after reading 10 Flashing Fireflies. I only put 7 fireflies in this blue Ball Jar, but if you do this as a follow up to that story, have children do 10 fingerprint fireflies. 5. Cut 5x7 rectangles of yellow construction paper. Cut out the template of my firefly out of cardstock and trace around it with a yellow crayon on the yellow construction paper. Place a Dixie cup of diluted black tempera paint in the middle of the table. You should have enough tempera so that the paper will get covered, but enough water so that the water-paint mixture will bead up on the waxed crayon and reveal the firefly and not paint opaquely over it. Have children “wash” paint over their entire middle of their paper. I do this activity after I read Eric Carles’ book The Very Lonely Firefly. I tell my students: “OK let’s go find some more firefly friends for this firefly.” I ask them: “When do fireflies come out?” They respond: “At night.” So I tell them: “The sun is shining on this paper. It is bright yellow. You have to make night come by painting it black, so that the fireflies will come out.” They are amazed to see their firefly appear! 6. For an adorable firefly bulletin board done with Christmas lights click on the link. Firefly Language Arts Activities: Firefly Bibliography: "What do we see in the summer night? Ten flashing fireflies burning bright!" Click on the link to view/print other firefly books that I recommend. I've highlighted in yellow my favorites. Click on the link to view/print a copy of my firefly bibliography. {amazonWS:itemId=1558586741} 123 Count Fireflies With Me: Read, trace, write, count, and then cut and glue the group of fireflies to the matching numbered boxes. Have students use a yellow bingo dot marker to fill in the appropriate amount of dots in the squares. For an easy reader counting booklet click on the link. Firefly counting booklet. Don’t be “bugged” by the –ight words! Get a jump-start for fall and study them with my cute lightning bug flashcards. Click on the link to view/print them. Make the cards even more fun, by painting the letters with glow-in-the-dark paint! Firefly flashcards Click on the link to view/print a firefly fan book of trace and write the firefly vocabulary words & a firefly life cycle fan book. Firefly Fan Books Cut out the strips, punch a hole in the middle of the bottom. Put the pages together with a brass brad so they unfold like a fan and you have a cute way to review words and science! Click on the link to TRACE and put the -ight words in ABC order. Firefly skill sheet. Print off my lightning bug silly story poem, hang it in your room, turn off the lights and pretend you’re a lightning bug and read it in the dark by pointing at each word with a flashlight. Firefly story poem + notes home. Click on the link to make a firefly class book. Click on the link for my firefly prose poem. For another cute lightning bug poem click on the link. Math Practice: If you’re teaching summer school and doing fireflies with your students, or home schooling, clink on the link to view/print a firefly graph. 123-Count fireflies with me skill sheet. Click on the link to view/print firefly counting skillsheets + an addition subtraction skill sheet. Etc. For a firefly life cycle wheel, click on the link. For a fact sheet on fireflies and a firefly to label and color, click on the link. Firefly stuff For a "bright student" firefly certificate of praise, click on the link. For some awesome firefly photographs of real fireflies, click on the link. I hope you enjoy these fun firefly activities, and I hope you get to see some real fireflies this summer! As always, if you have a firefly activity you do with your children, I’d enjoy hearing from you. [email protected] Feel free to PIN anything you feel might help or interest others. Until next time try saying this tongue twister: Fifty-four fireflies friskily flitted frantically from the frog’s ferocious feast!

Poetry Month is one of my favorite times of year! Elementary students LOVE writing poems and I want to share with you one of our favorite poetry writing activities…3D Haiku Poems! Haiku poetry is a form of traditional Japanese poetry, consisting of three lines. Often Haiku poems use sensory language to express a thought or […]

This is the ULTIMATE guide to creating an interactive bulletin board that targets preschool learning objectives. TONS of pictures and practical advice to help you get started.

Focusing on social-emotional skills such as kindness in the classroom encourages kids to develop social skills and emotional awareness.

Here's an adorable freeze pop name writing craft for summer! This summer freeze pop name writing craft not only looks great on bulletin boards, but will help your students practice fine motor skills by cutting, coloring, gluing and writing. Students will complete the craft by cutting out the template, writing each letter of their name on the circles and glue to assemble. GREAT for a small group activity or center rotation! Click on the PREVIEW above to see more of this resource! This summer freeze pop name writing craft includes: Four freeze pop templates in color and one in black/white Circle pieces for name writing This summer freeze pop name writing craft is perfect for: Table Time Small Groups Craft Time End of Year Activities Summer Activities Literacy Center Free Choice Center Don't forget that leaving a review earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases. I love seeing reviews! :) Also, follow my store for upcoming sales, new resources and freebies!

Are you looking for fun activities to hep develop your child's fine motor skills? These 35 fine motor activities are not only great for fine motor development but will keep your child entertained for hours!

Light the candles and cut the cake!

Create a Butterflies Bulletin Board for spring in 4 simple steps. This activity integrates art, fine motor skills, phonics, and math!

Are you interested in using rekenreks with your students, but you’re not sure how? A few years ago, I was in the same boat. I had been to a math training that used rekereks and I couldn’t wait to use them in my classroom. I made a class set out of cardboard and proudly brought them to school. Except I had no idea what to do with them! I had learned a game or two, but needed guidance with how to teach my students about them. In this post, I’ll show

Brilliant ideas from brilliant teachers like you!

Sunshine Bulletin Board Kit Included: - 2 Toned Border - Words - Graphics - Sunshine Names, blanks or editable Option to edit student names on Canva, or just print and handwrite names Download, print & cut

Creative, unique and CUTE bulletin board ideas for school this Spring, St Patricks Day, Easter, End of Year and all other March, April May and June holidays ad themes. From: Classroom Bulletin Board Ideas-Cute Decorating Ideas for Spring

March 2nd is a day to celebrate an amazing author’s birthday-Dr. Seuss! First, I will be taking my kids on a virtual field trip to www.Seussville.com There are great printables and games at t…

Looking for a quiet way to entertain your toddler? Build a threading station! This activity is sensory based with fine motor skills practice too!

Wisen up to these adorable owl-themed classroom ideas.

As the new year begins I'd like to look back on some of my all time favorite bulletin boards of the past few years. Enjoy! ...

Use these ideas for a bulletin board to spice up your classroom space and excite kids for learning this school ...

I am sharing a really easy laundry basket push game, a perfect proprioception activity for your toddlers or kids of any age. What is Proprioception? An easy description is proprioception is being able to know where your body is in space and where your limbs are in relation to your body. Muscle planning, grading muscle...

It’s August, and you know what that means… It’s almost time to head back to school! So let’s talk all things bulletin boards and borders! I have three tips for you to help create gorgeous bulletin boards! This

Using Emojis in the classroom is a fun way to tie recognizable visual elements into activities that all students will enjoy. I've rounded up 10 ways you can use Emojis in the classroom, including a free a Emoji character emotion reading anchor chart and writing activity, and free Emoji matching cards and more! Emojis are easy to use, and judging by the question, 'Can we use Emojis?' I get any time we do a project on the iPads, students love them! Set up Emojis on PC's, Chromebooks, iPads or Print & Use A quick note before trying out the ideas for

Keep students engaged while you're counting down the days!

Transition from summer to back-to-school.