Fireflies and Optimism

The Pessimist Firefly
-Sam Waller Foss

The pessimist firefly sat on a weed
In the dark of a moonless night;
With folded wings drooped over his breast
He moped and he moaned for light
"There is nothing but weeds on the earth,"
said he,
"And there isn't a star in the sky;
And the best I can do in a world like this
Is to sit on this weed and die."

"Then be your own star! Then be your own star!"
The optimist firefly said,
"If you'll leap from your weed, and will open your wings
And bravely fly afar,
You will find you will shine like a star yourself,
You will be yourself a star;

Yes, the thing you need
Is to leap from your weed
And be yourself a star."

We are learning about fireflies, lights, optimism, and bringing our own beauty to the world.
Today we read:

Ten Flashing Fireflies by P. Sturges
When the Fireflies Come by Jonathan London
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Other books we will be reading over the next two weeks include:

Fireflies in the Night by Judy Hawes
Fireflies by Megan E. Bryant
The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
Fireflies by Hall and Margaret
The Night of the Fireflies by Karen B. Winnick
Fireflies for Nathan by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
Firefly at Stony Brook Farm by Wendy Pfeffer
Aristotle: The Firefly's Message by Elizabeth M. Brown
Fireflies at Midnight by Marilyn Singer
Lighthouse Fireflies by Anne Margaret Lewiis

It would greatly enrich your child's learning experience if you would check out some of the above listed titles to reinforce the concepts we are talking about and they would have fun reading and sharing one of the books we read here with you!

We have a short morning talk everyday about our current subject of study and we will be observing the parts of the firefly, making our own paper fireflies, a jar full of "fireflies", reading like fireflies with flashlights in a dim room, discussing lights, playing firefly math games, memorizing and reciting poems, songs, and fingerplays about fireflies, and bringing our stories to life as we act them out and pretend to be fireflies.
Taking important thoughts from these stories we will also be discussing how we can each bring our own light to the world to make it better and more beautiful.....

Our new nature walk verse:

"Like sparkles glancing to and fro
Among the new mown grass
The fireflies gleam; how strange the show!
As back and forth they pass"
-Jones Very

This week's meditation for teachers and parents:

"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If we would only get out of our own way imagine what we could accomplish!
This week, pay special attention to how often you respond or think negatively about the events and day to day occurrences in your life. Listen to how you speak to others and how you speak to yourself. This is particularly effective to do when things aren't going as you had planned. Can you stop and redirect yourself? Can you act as if everything will work out fine? You will be surprised
at how quickl this change of attitude changes your life. Make note of the times when your speak or think negatively. Journal about it and be more mindful of changing your self talk by using positive affirmations."

Little Acorn Learning