Flannel Friday: Ten Flashing Fireflies by Philemon Sturges


Philemon Sturges' first book, Ten Flashing Fireflies, is a cute counting book about a boy and a girl catching fireflies. The book simultaneously counts down and up, like this:

"What do we see in the summer night? / Ten flashing fireflies burning bright! / Catch the one twinkling there / Like a star. (next page) One flashing firefly in our jar."

The text rhymes, but changes throughout the text a little. Each firefly is just a ball of bright yellow/white light.

I needed another flannel or activity to do in next week's pajama storytime (on, as you can guess.. fireflies), and I decided this would be the perfect fit.

I used Miss Alison's firefly as a template, scaling it down in Word to be the size I needed to get 10 of them to fit into my jar (drawn free hand from this inspiration).

Here's the final product:
I always have trouble guessing how big things are in pictures, so I put a standard 12 inch ruler next to it so you can get a sense of the size of the jar and bugs.

The fireflies are done on yellow felt with brown puffy paint wings and faces, and gold puffy paint butts :) (sorry for the blurry photo. They were all turning out this way and I was in a hurry)

The jar is basically a whole sheet of cream colored felt with black sharpie drawn "accents."

Because the text is so repetitive and lovely, I'm going to attempt to memorize it and recite the story as we put the flannel pieces from the air into the jar (and.. spoiler alert: back again). Enjoy!

This week's round up is hosted by Sarah of Read It Again. As always, check the Flannel Friday website, Facebook, and Pinterest accounts for more information and to see past Flannel Friday creations.

CONVERSATION

4 comments :

  1. I LOVE your sparkly fireflies! I may have to borrow this for my Night Creatures story time in a few weeks. I will take any opportunity to 'bling' my flannels.

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  2. Thanks, Sarah! Most of them were still drying when I left yesterday, so I didn't get to see the full glitter effect until this morning, but I can't wait to use it!

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  3. Amy, your fireflies are ADORABLE and I love the jar, too! I am thinking this would be perfect for my upcoming storytime featuring Mouse's First Summer. This book would be a great choice as the second book for the night. :0) Thanks for sharing!

    I would love to invite you to link your post up to my Bugs ABC'S Blog Hop. The blog hop features Activities, Books, Crafts, and Snacks (ABC'S) all about BUGS! I think you post fits right in as an activity and as a book recommendation. Here is the link if you decide to link up:

    http://librarystorytimeabcs.blogspot.com/2012/05/photobucket.html

    Have a wonderful weekend!
    ~ K ~

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