Gideon: Being Silly and Artistic Once Again! (Photo Essay Format)

This is a rather old story, but I've forgotten to add it here to Gather, so here it is!

This year the theme for summer reading was to "Catch the Reading Bug" and naturally it was bug themed.

Part of their reading pack was to take a page of photocopied shapes and to make a bug out of them. Gideon colored the page and said I'm done! He hadn't cut them out and assembled them into a bug yet. He insisted he was done.

That week we went back to the library to attend Pj storytime and I showed him the bugs other kids created. (They display them by age group/grade in the library) Gideon looked at them intently. I explained that they made bugs by taking their pages and using the shapes. Then I asked if he'd like to try that too, and they'll put it up in the library too.

Gideon has always wanted his art in the library.. well, ever since his friend Bella had hers there for school. This was Gideon's BIG chance to have his art in the library! He loves that idea and when we came home we tried the bug assembling.

I cut out the pieces for him, as that's a bit tricky, and demonstrated the concept for him making bugs. Then I spread the pieces out and let him get to work. I looked back at him, but let him do his own thing.

A few minutes later he says "A stop sign!" I looked over and sure enough he  had made a stop sign. I told him how wonderful his stop sign was and asked if his bug was going to hold it. He said no. I just want a stop sign I'm done.

I explained how they liked him to make a bug. Doesn't he want to make a bug like I showed him earlier? He said no! I can't DO it! At this point I didn't push it. He seemed upset and that wasn't the aim at all.

I went back to what I was doing and left him alone. A few minutes later he said "Look, Mom!" I looked back and that silly boy had made a bug! I went over to look at it closer and I said "I thought you told me you couldn't do it? This is a WONDERFUL Bug!" He looked at me and said "I thought I couldn't do it, but I was just being silly."

Silly, silly Gideon. Here's his finished bug.


Here's his bug on display at the library.


A closer look at his bug on display.


Good Job Gideon!