Firefly coloring pages for the last hour before dark

You do not need twenty-five of these. You need the four that actually feel like a summer evening.

A glass jar, a lid with a few air holes, a cluster of fireflies inside. Color the glass light and the bugs lighter. Good for the stretch right after dinner.

One firefly, close up, with room to make the abdomen the brightest thing on the page. The page for a kid who wants to get one thing exactly right.

A wide scene with grass, a low sky, and dots of light scattered through it. More room, more patience, a calmer mood.

A kid mid-reach with a net or an open jar. The one that turns into a story while they color.

Coloring a glow runs backward from how you color most things. Three small moves make it work:

1. 1Start with the dark. Lay down the night and the background first, so the light has something to push against.
2. 2Leave the brightest spot nearly white. A thin ring of yellow around an uncolored center reads as glow far better than solid yellow.
3. 3Soften the edges. A faint halo around the abdomen sells the light more than a hard outline ever will.

Pick a page, find a seat near a window, and let the evening do the rest. The fireflies outside only last an hour. The ones on paper keep glowing as long as the crayons hold out.