Day one of the school year is today. Yesterday was the first day for freshman only, but as a link crew leader I went for the morning too, the 100ish leaders cheered for the frosh as they entered the gym, got their nametags, and were squashed together into the bleachers.  We did activities as a big group of 500+ and then split into groups of 12 or so, with 2 link leaders to a group. This was our group, and we headed off to our assigned classroom to play games and activities that us leaders memorized. It was a challenge but I did like it and can’t wait to do it again next year.

On Monday, my last day of summer, I decided to clean off my desk. It had morphed into an art desk over the summer and it needed to be turned back to homework worthy.

Here is a before picture of my desk, it’s nicer looking than usual because I had just finished a collage and so I had cleaned up all the scraps. But usually it’s a tornado of half-finished work. I use the magazines for my collages, as with the rubber cement. I like rubber cement –except for the fumes, because it doesn’t wrinkle the paper and it’s not very messy. My sketchbook doesn’t move, save a trip outside to take pictures or a vacation, this is it’s spot and it stays. I use scratch paper, especially when I glue because I swipe the brush over the whole paper and beyond so I can get the edges. It get’s real messy real fast and so I dump the paper after it to sticky. My makeshift wind barrier was to guard some cutouts, from a long ago collage, from the wind. The wind was from the window I opened, trying to air out the rubber cement smell. I  haven’t used it since, but I kept it up.

Here’s the whole workspace, the other desk is a mix between Mary’s occasional desk, and my storage. See the amazon box in the corner of the other desk? Below is it’s contents.

In it we have: paint chips, magazine cutouts, fabric scraps, an instruction guide to a lamp, old friendship bracelets, orange foam pieces (from a Nerf dart), post its, post it flags, receipts, beads, tickets, pleated paper, ribbon, a little box full of words cut out from magazines, my first crochet project, cardboard, and memory paraphernalia including; old Sudoku’s that I slaved over until they were shredding in my fingers, school photos, and my little letters and stories from my sister when she was just learning to write.

I think Mary was around 6 when she wrote this. This is what it says, with no spelling corrections, see if you can read it.

Rose Hope

Rose she plas with mosaix

Rose she max got drones lick

a pige bac and a dog and pepi

and jrre and a brasclit and a

reing Rose she loves mom

Rose she read.

To: Rose

From: Mary

Here’s a translation:

Rose Hope

Rose she plays with mosaics. Rose she make good drawings like a piggy bank and a dog and a puppy and jar and a bracelet and a ring. Rose she loves Mom. Rose she read.

To: Rose

From: Mary

I love this, but for some reason I remember being really made that she gave it to me. But I did have it taped to my wall for a while.

This is another piece of writing from her that we didn’t find it till she was older.

This time I’m only going to write it down as it’s written because the spelling isn’t as bad.

The Careman

The Careman is the man that cares abat evereeone speshole pepl that lived on the strete. because they do not have a hous and the careman gevs thos pepl 100 dolors. The Careman is the man that everone like but he is getting to old to wok and he’s in a welchar.

Awww…. after I was done enthusing over the two pieces I cleaned up. Here’s is the finished result, ready for homework, I hope it doesn’t get used too much!