My house been taken over by poster boards, markers, glue, and construction paper.  Piles of scraps float across the floor like lost dust bunnies waiting for the broom.  Ideas spark and crumble into tears as my children navigate school projects.

My children are now the ages of kids that I taught and my teacher tips for greatness bug them.  I can’t help it.  I try to keep them in, yet they spew through the air like they have a life of their own.

“I’ve seen projects like this before.  I have a few ideas.”

Fourth grade eyes glaze over,   “I’m really not interested.”

I ignore that, “If you work on this in pieces then assemble on the poster board, it’ll be easier in the long run.”

“But, we have three boards.  If I mess up, I’ll just start over.”

I take a moment.  ”I’ve seen this before.  Kids only mess up when they are almost done.  Then they need to start over from the beginning.  It makes them nutso.  They start banging their heads on the desk and stuff.”

“I’m not your student.”

“Okay, go forth.  Do it your way.”

Fifteen minutes later…

“MOOOMMMMMMMM!”

“What is it?”

“I messed up.”

“Right”

If you are reading this you might just need a tip for dealing with your child’s school project.  Let me say first, thanks for listening!  It’s good that somebody cares.  Anyhow, make sure that you have broken the project into sections.  Then glue each section onto colorful paper and organize using construction paper for a pop of color.   Glue only at the very end for a polished organized look.

On a final note, I bet you are interested in that photo of paper towels.  We’ve done every paper towel experiment known to man.  Conclusion, I’ve been spending way too much over the years for paper towels.   Sigh…