I have a very firm vision of how I’d like to arrange my room for student activities throughout the day and personal organization. A rocking chair was a part of my original plan because it calls to mind a cozy environment for sharing the love of a good read. However, working in the classrooms, it feels that it takes up space that could be used for the children. Because of this, I’ve decided to use a few stools at various heights. It’s an experiment – I understand much of what I think now will change with experience; that’s part of the excitement. Because it is so hard to wait for August to arrive with a classroom of students, then I spend some of my free time creating items for the future. This is said somewhat tongue in cheek. I bought 6 chairs on Craigslist almost a year ago and I finally painted my first classroom stool. My favorite colors are black and red. Red is a little strong to have much of it in the room so I’ll just have a few blips of it. Growing up in Louisiana inspired the fleur-de-lis. This represents my heritage. It’s a little funny because I dislike seeing stars all over homes in Texas or fleurs-de-lis in every decoration when visiting home – just a personal taste issue. However, it’s a beautiful symbol with interesting history behind it. It’s a fancy lily indicative of France. My hometown is Baton Rouge, but walking through New Orleans, the image of the fleurs-de-lis within the architecture is beautiful. Here is my first stool:

I learned something about painting furniture – there are a LOT of steps.  Sanding, priming, multiple paint coats, then multiple top coats.  Most importantly, beware, it’s contagious.  Two daughters are now about to begin similar adventures.