Boy, Am I Perplexed

Today, my kiddoes were to assemble a leaf press in preparation for gathering leaves for a leaf collection. The press simply squeezes the leaves into a nice, flat object and absorbs enough moisture to halt the decaying process.

Anyway, I stopped by the local newspaper plant and collected a couple of stacks of old newspapers. The newspapers are used in layers for the press to not only cushion and press the leaves, but to absorb the excess moisture from the leaves.

Earlier, I sent email to all the parents participating in my email express and forewarned them a cereal box would be needed for this activity. Only a handful of children came to class with the cereal box. Oh well, that part of the activity will have to be done, at home.

I gathered more than enough newspapers to satisfy the requirements for at least 150 kids. Today, I only had about 80 students do this activity. Lo and behold, by the time my last group came into the room, I barely had enough newsprint for those munchkins to assemble only half the press. Sorry, guys, you will have to complete this work at home and collect your own newspapers.

The youngsters were given the assignment, yesterday, to gather the leaves and place them in a leaf press by Monday. Hope they comply.

Normally, this activity is a homework assignment, but to gather that much newspaper often is a struggle for families. Therefore, this year, I collected the newsprint.