P&K Insider

I’m not a big fan but I’m trying to get my kids to appreciate those little creatures. I remember when my son was only 3 and we had a small invasion of ants in our living room. By “small invasion” I mean about a ga-zillion ants swarming angrily towards our couch. Without thinking of the impression I could leave on my little guy, I grabbed a shoe and acted like a mad woman! Yelling and smacking and crushing…

When my rampage ended, I looked up and my son’s eyes met mine. He look bewildered and a tad unsure if I was the mom he had come to know. “Oh, honey. Bugs aren’t dangerous. They just live outside, not inside,” I said as kindly as I could muster.

For several months following this incident, my son was deathly afraid of all bugs. So in turn, I had to be extra nice to them. I pointed out butterflies, held a caterpillar, observed ants digging a hole. It worked and now he’s totally into them.

He was absolutely amazed by the larger-than-life bug sculptures that are being exhibited at the New England Flower Society’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham. Around every corner of the one-mile walk, there are enourmous bug sculptures - ants, spiders, bees and ladybugs and all are part of a traveling exhibit. Now through October, there will be special events on all things bugs. You have to check it out!