School started today and I'm officially declaring an end to Camp Sweatshop.

Huzzah.


The return of school doesn't really make me dance through the streets like it does some parents, because what it means for me is that I have a much tighter schedule to deal with, two different places to make sure the children get to each day instead of one, and the risk of traffic causing me to not make in home in time to meet the bus makes the threat of neighbors calling CPS once again very real. On the other hand, I don't have to entertain them nearly as much and the hours the Large One is out of the house are covered by taxes I'm already required to pay, so my checking account will no longer look like monster truck drove over it for the entertainment of thousands. I'm calling it a wash.

Here's one of our last Camp Sweatshop activities. Yes, I resorted to an egg carton craft from my childhood. What can I say? I had all the stuff on hand. I'm gonna call this an environmental education lesson in recycling. I don't think I need to explain at all how to do it. We'll just let the photos speak for themselves.


Now, apply paint and markers liberally to both flowers and children.

The only problem with activities like these is this is what now decorates your kitchen table and you won't ever, ever be able to throw it out because if you happen to even try to toss one or two things, you'll be met with four sad eyes and a lot of awwwww-ing. Then you'll be guilt-ed into keeping it along with the metric ton of other projects that are floating around the house and eventually you will suffocate under a pile of children's crafts. And then one day your friends will nominate you to be on an episode of Hoarders.

But at least your hoarded crap will be cute kids' projects and not cats.