projects in the works

There are a few projects I've been working on this summer that I want to get finished before I go back to work on August 11. The first one I just started is by request of Anna's new first grade teacher. She calls them "seat sacks" and they are little pouches that fit over the back of the chair with a small pocket for pencils and a big pocket for notebooks. She basically just gave me a picture and said "go for it". I made one and showed her and it wasn't quite what she had in mind so I changed it a bit (and 2.5 hours later) got a new design. Hopefully now that I've got it figured out the rest will be a piece of cake. I'm using old jeans that I've collected, so that should be interesting.

The other project I'm wanting to finish soon is Anna's bookcase. I decided to paint it. I sanded all the surfaces to rough them up and then primed it. This morning I put on the first coat of paint, and hope to be able to get another coat tomorrow. Then it will be finished and we can put the books back on the shelves and get rid of the massive box in Anna's room that I think is holding much more than books right now.

I also started a quilting project, but I'm not even going to attempt to finish that before the 11th. I doubt I'll even work on it until school starts again. I'm really looking forward to the 2 full days every week I'll have off work with no kids around! I'll be able to get so much done. Maybe I'll even dig out the scrapbooking!

I am going to be working in the 5th grade as a paraprofessional. The teacher I'm working with is probably the best teacher in the school. She's also one of my best friends. I'm really looking forward to it. I will really miss working in the learning center though. Miss Stefie and I were a great team!