What happens to all those projects your children (and you) spent days and days building, gluing, and painting, when it’s all over and done?

I feel like they need to have some sort of project museum, because it sure is hard dealing with this stuff after it comes back home.  My kids want to save every single one, and we are running out of shelves.

I have been known to sneak one or two into the trash when they’re not here.  Most of the time they don’t notice.  But when I get caught, omigosh, you’d think I had just killed the dog.

Recently my son (and I) built a one-foot-tall pyramid out of sugar cubes.  He was (we were) so proud of it.  I knew this one would be especially hard to sneak into the trash.

The teacher sent it home early because he didn’t want the sugar to attract ants to his classroom.  Oops!  Hadn’t thought about that.  I didn’t want ants in my house, either!  I told my son not to bring it inside.  His face fell.

I was driving home yesterday with my car windows down.  Blocks away from my house, I could hear a faint “pop…splat”, “pop…splat”, “pop…splat”.  It sounded like gunfire.  My heart raced.

As I got nearer, I could tell the sound was coming from very near my house.  My imagination was running wild.  I pictured the neighbor boys shooting an air rifle at our dogs.  Or … worse.

I pulled into the driveway and quickly jumped from my car.  As I rounded the corner, I discovered the sound was coming from my own son.

The pyramid was set all the way across the back yard and he was gleefully shooting it with a paintball gun.  The poor thing was being shattered cube by cube.  His aim was remarkable.  He didn’t look the least bit heartbroken over losing this dear project.

Anyway, if you have any leftover projects, well, he needs some new targets.

You can tell the kids you sent them out to live on a farm somewhere …