The Liebers: Happiness is...Back to School

It's almost back to school time! Do those words strike fear in your heart or make you do a little happy dance? I'm mostly feeling the latter. Don't get me wrong; I love summer. It's a bit more laid back and the weather is usually awesome, but there's something about the routine of the school year that calls to me.

I work all summer which means my kids are in different camps. It's a fun schedule and they love it, but it means a lot of running around for us. It also gets expensive! I've finally made the last camp payment and that feels good. Work also gets pretty boring for me in the summer. Since I work with college students, things obviously slow down when the students go home. I've got paperwork things I can do, but I miss the interactions that come from having students around.

However you feel about back to school time, it is a milestone, or a marking period in the life of parents and kids. I've got a project for you that you can adapt to reflect your exact thoughts this time of year.

You will need:

a yellow pool noodle
red (or pink) and silver duct tape
a serrated knife
scissors
sidewalk chalk
brown Sharpie
a mini chalkboard
yellow ribbon
hot glue gun

First cut your noodle into three pieces using a serrated knife. They don't have to be exact. I rarely measure anything. Using the red (or pink) duct tape, cover one end of each noodle piece. I made the "eraser" the same width as one piece of duct tape. Underneath the eraser, use the silver duct tape to make the metal piece that holds the eraser. Now flip your "pencil" over and use the knife to "sharpen it." I started about three inches up and angled down towards a point. The noodles are hollow in the middle, so you won't really get a point, but hopefully you know what I mean.

After you have sharpened your pencils, insert a piece of sidewalk chalk in the hole at the sharpened end. This will be the lead of the pencil. Then color the "sharpened" part of the pencil brown to make it look like you've exposed the wood. I tied my pencils together with a yellow ribbon and then added the chalkboard to the front.

Here's where you can personalize it to express your feelings about back to school time. I'm obviously feeling a bit snarky. The kids thought the project was really cool, until they read the message. I wish I could have captured their faces! Just imagine three sets of eyes all rolling together!

I had a nice video for you, but it's not cooperating with me, so I apologize for the lack of visual help here.

My Blog With Friends have some more options for Happiness Projects for you. Check them out below!