School Days: Channing Totems

Last Tuesday night, I was finessing the delicate finishing touches on Jordan Knight's hairline with some ashy gray paint.  A hairline that I hadn't realized until that moment, was very similar to the Jersey Shore style of today. Without the rat tail.  I had completely forgotten about NKOTB rat tails until watching the videos.  That part of them did not live on in my fantasies. I was just about to hum the corus of "Please Don't Go Girl" when Teacher Jen's phone call sucked me out of my hot hair trance and forcibly shoved me into a Pacific Northwest Indian tribe circa 1850.

Jen: How do you feel about making totem poles with the kids on Friday?
Me: Um, ecstatic.
Jen: OK, you know I don't mean actually carving wood with 3rd graders, right? I was thinking paper on the wall in the back corner, something we can curve around and build up.
Me: <Lying> Of course I knew that.
Jen: I just don't have time to help work anything out by Friday. Can you plan it and let me know if I need to do anything before hand?
Me: I have a plan, no worries. It will be easy.
Jen: No knives?
Me: No knives.

So Mr. Schatze built us some amazing totem pole stands from scrap wood and leftover home decor fabric rolls.

That wasn't my plan. I mean, not for him to make them. Sometimes, yes, I am passive aggressive in my requests. Like, "Hey, will you help me clean the bathrooms?" I really just want them cleaned.  When I asked him to help me make totem pole stands, I actually meant it.

Good thing he did more than help though, because they were better than anything that I would have duct taped together.  He even used some weight lifting equipment on the bottom to provide support and stability.

I love him.

The kids utilized their paper sections for drawing pictures representing what was important to them. There were a lot with footballs and playground equipment. One with The Hunger Games books.

When the day was over I stayed after to make lions, the school mascot, for both sides of the totem tops.  While cutting the manes, I decided it would be awesome to scrap the lion bit altogether and put a big Channing Tatum head on the top instead.

I know right?! Channing Totems!

Instead, Teacher Jen got to be the shining star of the totems. That is her with the billowy brown hair on the left.

Maybe next year.