It is summer and while I am knee-deep in enjoying some rest and relaxation, I also spend some quiet time each morning doing a little thinking about next year. Sometimes that is mindless surfing of the huge number of incredible online teachers who post their ideas and sometimes that is in doing a little preparing for the year ahead. It isn't a drudgery because I actually love to do it and it is the time of year when I have the most time to think, research, consider, and make without impending deadlines.
So, I stopped scrolling one morning when I saw someone post a similarly decorated wall from their classroom (see left). No credit was given to the creator and I will endeavour to keep looking for someone to thank for where I went with it.
I do love butterflies but this year my classroom theme is "light". As I will be teaching very happily at a Christian school, I have chosen a verse from Matthew 5. I brainstormed and looked at a whole bunch of images and videos of classrooms with similar themes. I loved many of the great work teachers had created but as I sat out by the campfire up north (Ontario) and looked out, I spotted a source of light that quite delighted me. Fireflies!
“You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5.14-16
Butterflies. Fireflies. Hmmm! I think that I can make quite a dramatic wall display. I searched Amazon, Temu, and even Etsy with no luck for 3D fireflies that I could use to make the display. Unfortunately, fireflies were not available so I had to either come up with a new idea or figure something out. Not daunted, I headed off to the Dollar Tree to pick up some craft supplies. My first prototype of a firefly and some attempts after were fireflies only a mother could love. My husband and really good friend were kind. "Maybe they'd look better when there were lots of them." UGH! I went back to the drawing board. Thanks to Danielle at
Danielle's Place, I saw this image and with a few alterations, I made my prototype. It got much more positive reviews and I opened my firefly factory. I'm on my way! It has taken me a day to get this far but I am excited about the results. You are looking at the backs of the fireflies so there is much more to reveal but it is a start! I can hardly wait to finish the more than 80 fireflies and put it together with the other pieces of the display! I hope my students will love it! Did I mention that I bought fairy lights? This could be the best wall display I have set up in 33 years!
But how will I connect with the Magic Backyard? A display this large and exciting needs a story... and then I remembered! Several years ago, I read "Fireflies" by Julie Brinkloe to my students. Most of the urban students had never seen or heard of fireflies. They loved the story and were determined to spend their summer looking for fireflies. I imagine that they found that difficult to do. It has been since the pandemic that fireflies have made a comeback in Ontario. I think this will be a perfect Magic Story for the students. I will have to put some thought into what the children in the story will give to my students and how we will talk about all the beautiful lights that God has created for us and how important it is to protect those lights. There is a lot of work to do to get the story ready to be a Magic Story but I am excited about it and I hope you will be excited about it too when I am able to put it together and post it as a lesson plan that you can enjoy. In the meantime, if you have any really neat ideas about fireflies, please send them my way. I will take anything that I can get!
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