“Mom watch this!!!” Olivia giggled.

She propped her iPod up on book so she could see the screen while she danced and sang along with the video.

“Mom watch! I’m dancing…isn’t it the cutest.  It’s so fun!”

“Uuuuuhuuuuuu, that’s nice Olivia,” I answered looking back at my computer screen (note to reader…it was like the bazzillionth time I’d heard /watched the beloved video)

“Mom watch! There just so fun!  Look at me dance just like them!”

“Olivia, how many times have you watched that JibJab?”

“I don’t know?!” she smiled and hit the play button again.

The singing, dancing, watch me momma seemed to go on over and over again.

I sighed secretly inside.  “Really!” I thought, “How many times do I have to listen to this? Do I let it go on? Do I stop it?  She does like the videos? How many times can one human being watch the same video over and over and over again?!”

I took a deep breath and breathed out trying to to summon an idea.  I turned from my computer at the kitchen table and said to her,” Oliviaaaaaaa, sweetieeeeeeeee,” I smiled big “You’ve watched that movie over and over again.  It’s been like a million times!”

“But I like it momma,” she smiled back innocently.

I kept smiling back at her, waiting for an idea, a thought, something I could say to kindly get her to stop watching the clip without letting her know how much it was truly driving me crazy (although I had some small inkling that she did know that already).

“What if instead of watching the clip and coping it,  you made your own clip to watch.  What if you made your own movie!  A movie you could watch, a movie others could watch too!” I encouraged. “I know this art teacher Ms.Fugelsted and she does all kinds of awesome movies and art with her students.  We could go to her website and learn how you can make some of your own!

She smiled back at me with a look of excitement and interest….her creativity, ideas and story gears were already turning.

Before we could dive into ways she was going to create her very own movie it was dinner time and once dinner time over that meant shower time.

Our post dinner and shower routine unexpectedly found Francine, Olivia and me in the toy room.  Francine really wanted the veterinarian Lego set  but she didn’t have the money to buy it….so she decided to use the pieces she already had and we would build it ourselves.  As Francine and I picked through a bucket of legos we picked out just the right pieces to put together her veterinarian hospital.  Olivia sat at the Lego table playing with her barn and two of her Lego friends.

In between searching for legos in the endless pit that is a bucket of Legos, I looked over to watch Olivia.

I smiled to myself….yes that smile...yes the idea smile….

“Olivia, remember those Lego movies you watched last month?”

“Yes.”

“What about you make your own!” I smiled as I jumped up and went and got my iPad, “I have this app…look…” I said as I showed her the Stop Motion App.

“Ohhhhh yeahhhhhhhh!!! I get it momma,” she smiled…yes that smile…as I showed her how to take pictures of her Legos with it and make them look like they were moving.  Before too long she was already creating!

Two weeks later I am so very, very proud to share with you

an original stop motion video by Olivia titled:

In The Morning

Mommy Disclaimer…. Olivia first began creating by writing.  She wrote because she just loves it!  She started writing here when she was 7 years old because she just wanted to share her words and see how it felt!  She learned that it feels good share her stories and hear what other people think about them.  Today Olivia (now 8 years old) has written, created and produced her very own stop motion film.  I only helped with showing her how the Stop Motion App worked and how to add the words to her stop motion video.  By writing her stories and making her videos, Olivia hopes to show kids that they can have fun reading stories, writing stories and then making stories of their own!

 

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