100 Days of School

Alayna came home from school last week with instructions from her teacher to go to the local HEB (regional grocery chain, H.E. Butts (hee hee)), and pick up a commemorative poster to celebrate the 100^th day of school. Once she had the poster, she could collect 100 things and put them on the back. An HEB trip was not in the cards on that very day, but since there was no note from school demanding immediate attention to an assignment, it was decided to pick up this celebratory poster at a more convenient date.

Tuesday after school Alayna was scheduled to get a shot at the Dr's office, but we had time before her appointment to stop by HEB. We picked up a few items from their Gluten Free section, including Mi-Del Chocolate Chip Cookies as a reward for Alayna's promised and predicted bravery during her shot. At check out, Alayna dutifully asked about the 100th Day of School poster and informed the cashier that today (Tuesday), was the 97th day. Employees from across the store were asked, but none knew anything about a celebratory poster.

On Wednesday the plot thickened when I picked Alayna up from school. She said she is supposed to get a big poster (demonstrating how tall and wide with her hands) and collect 100 things to put on it. A girl in her class had brought in hers and it was all hearts. When we got home Alayna took a flap from a cardboard box and began to draw rows of flowers. She was only able to fit around 50 flowers on her salvaged box flap. We decided she could use another flap and we could tie them together. Except, it was hard to differentiate the individual flowers she had drawn.


At this point, Paul came home from work. I explained that I had deduced that the 100th Day of School poster seemed to be an assignment, and Alayna was already working on it. I planned to buy her a poster-board to draw her flowers on again and then we could stick a silk flower on as number 100. It completely meets the parameters of the assignment as we understood them to be. All was well and well in hand.

Paul said that this would not do. Poster-board presentations are supposed to be something exciting, and he couldn't let her make a dull one. Apparently none of Paul's poster board assignments were allowed to be boring and Alayna now fell within the same expectations. Paul called Alayna in for a "conference" to talk about her project just like a grown-up. Alayna was very excited to learn that when there is a project at work there would be a conference to discuss ideas on how to present the project and then make a plan to execute the task. She was very involved in thinking of different types of flowers she could put on her big poster. Brains were stormed, minds were mapped, and stories were boarded. Alayna was very excited to have a brainstorm, “just like the Imagination Movers, but without music!”

The following items were discussed during the conference:

1. Scope: Poster with 100 things on it
2. Things: Flowers
3. Types of things:
   1. Foam sticker flowers
   2. Die-cut flowers
   3. Silk flowers
   4. Colored flowers
   5. Stickers
   6. Stamps
   7. Chenile flowers
   8. Origami flowers
   9. Fabric flowers
4. Action items:
   1. Mom print out flowers for Alayna to color
      1. Alayna color flowers and cut out
   2. Mom find large Sunflower
   3. Mom find flowers at craft store
   4. Mom help with origami flowers
   5. Arrange and glue to poster board

A trip to the store yielded the required supplies. After school Alayna was involved with coloring flowers to cut out, folding paper to make origami flowers and twisting chenille to make more flowers. After dinner Cavell and I watched a fire engine movie while Paul and Alayna got to work arranging the flowers.

Since all good school projects are best done in the most fatigued state possible, Paul waited to start the project at 7pm. That doesn't sound late, but that's the kids' bedtime and he's usually asleep by 8:30. At 7, his reflexes are slowing down. This is evidenced by the glue gun burns on his fingers. Paul manned the gun while Alayna chose where the flowers were to reside. Some parental guidance was used to prevent linear arrangement of like flowers. A more artistic and haphazard approach was taken.

The final product was deemed to pass the rigid criteria set by the baggage of Paul's upbringing. The only thing left to do was turn in the assignment. The easy part, right?

As you can see, the poster is nearly as large as the child holding it. Alayna had a rough enough time walking with the awkward shape. But combine that with a freezing wind and rain storm, and there was no way Alayna would be able to turn this thing in on her own. Paul was tasked with transporting the poster to school partially protected within his jacket and mostly under an umbrella. Despite the occasional wind gust, rain puddles, and swarms of small children impeding his every step, the project made it to the safe confines of the school's front door.

Alayna was very proud to turn in her assignment and bragged that her poster was the “most beautiful of them all.” She also reported that her teacher's only critique was that it would have been easier to count if she had grouped her flowers in 10 groups of 10 like everybody else. Well lady, too bad, “that's not how my Daddy arranges flowers.”

A note from the Editor (Paul): I'm not certain if this counts as a parenting landmark or not. This was our first time helping a child with a "major" school project. Many but not all of the required elements were in place. There was no procrastination involved, no last minute late night trips to the store for supplies, no crying or fit throwing from any of the involved parties. So we will chalk this one up as a learning experience and a stair step towards the next level. There's bound to be a sugar cube mission diorama or science project in our future that will strain the bonds of our family at some point.