Tot School: Make Your Own Fireflies In A Jar And A Printable

School is back in session at the Rodriguez casa! Tot school, that is. We took a break from doing our tot school activity time because that is what summer is for, but are ready to get back on the educational train. 

This week we learned about fireflies, for purely nostalgic reasons. Around this time two years ago, I saw my very first fireflies when we were visiting Matt's parents back in Chicago. Dusk drifted in and those magical, glowing creatures came alive. I felt like I was watching fairies or something, and got giddy at the sight of it. Those little buggers are pretty dang magnificent, so I wanted to teach Luke all about the cool bugs at Nanny and Papa's house. I knew it would be an instant hit, and I was right!

We made our own glowing fireflies in a jar, watched a video about fireflies, and colored a printable.

Here's what you need to make your own glowing fireflies in a jar:

-a mason jar
-fake floral buds or pom poms (plastic toy beetles or flies would obviously be more realistic, but I couldn't find any and wanted them to look round when they glow in the dark)
-glow spray paint
-thread
-tape
-grass, leaves and sticks for the bug jar

Directions:

1. On wax paper, spray your glow paint onto your balls or pom poms in a well-ventilated area. Give them three coats of paint — the more coats, the brighter they will glow! Let dry for 15-20 minutes.

2. While they are drying, tape three 3-inch pieces of thread to the inside lid of the mason jar. Make sure they are evenly spaced so they hang correctly.

3. Fill your jar with all your nature fixings and findings. Throw a few ants in there to give it a real dramatic effect!

4. Once the "fireflies" are done drying, tie then onto the string and close the lid. Make sure to sit them by bright light for a bit to get that glowing juice. Then go into a dark space and see your fireflies glow!

Luke kept staring into his jar and was completely mesmerized. After about twenty trips in and out of the bathroom to see the "bio-woom-a-ness" in action (bioluminescence — yes, I taught my 2-year old that word; we have Ivy League universities to prepare for, people), we watched a short video presentation all about fireflies on our new Intel 2 in 1.

We were graciously given this Dell Inspiron to review, and we have loved it so far. Matt has always had a Dell of some sort, whereas I have always been an Apple person, so it has been fun testing it out. It is both a laptop and a tablet, which is genius engineering if you ask me. With my laptop, it always bothers me I can't touch the screen to click or select something as you would with a tablet, and I always get frustrated trying to type out lengthy things on tablets. Thanks for solving this problem, Intel! You rule. That incredible price point of $400 isn't too shabby either, especially for students. (Much better than the $1,500+ you'd shell out for a Macbook and iPad.)

After the video, we went over the basic concepts of what a firefly is and how it works in terms that Luke could understand. We then set off to coloring this firefly printable coloring page. It is both a counting and coloring activity, and wrapped up the tot school day perfectly. 

This was the perfect lesson to get back into the swing of things. What boy doesn't love bugs? I hope you can find some time to enjoy one or all of these activities with your little one! Happy tot schooling!

Disclosure: This product was sponsored and provided courtesy of Intel, however all opinions are my own.