Ugh! Should it REALLY Take This LONG?!?!

I'd like to preface this rant with a reminder, (to myself and to others) by saying that I REALLY do love my students.  AND I really AM so appreciative of the website DonorsChoose.org....but........... 

I recently created a "project" in hopes of getting my class some better inside recess activities.  Right now, it's a little pathetic...we're playing with a few sad things:

• incomplete puzzles (they started out with all the pieces, but I SWEAR my students must eat them, because where else would they go?!?)
• incomplete checkers (ditto as above...how can we REALLY loose plastic red and black shiny plastic pieces...you'd figure they'd stand out on the carpet...someone MUST be eating them...or stashing them....)
• Chutes and Ladders (this one isn't sad, but sadLY, my students don't really enjoy it.  Go figure.)
• paper, glue, tape, crayons, markers, colored pencils (draw, create, color, etc.)

So, I went through all the steps to verify that I'm an actual teacher (even though somedays I feel more like a babysitter, and some days like a drill sargeant...).  Then, I went throught all the steps to create my project (creative name, blurb about your class, essay about your project, "shopping" for supplies, verifying your email again, etc.). 

BUT, there was one last step...the dreaded "class picture".  I don't know if any of you have done DonorsChoose.org before, but there is a LONG list of "DO NOTS" when posting pictures....hmmm....how can I obey all the rules and still make it cute?!?

So here I am with all my creativity and eagerness, thinking to myself, "How charming would it be (since we can't show faces), if we did some sort of saying in front of our faces, but still took a group picture?!?!"  I mulled and mulled and finally came up with a saying with the correct number of letters so each student could get one.  I typed them up in bubble font, printed them out, and let the kiddos color their own.  Then, we cut them out, and glued them on RED paper (I thought this may make us stand out...). 

AND FINALLY, CAME TIME FOR THE ACTUAL PICTURE...(I put it in all caps, because I want to add the sound effects "dun dun duuun", but you can't do that through a blog).  So this, if you're wondering, is where my post title came from.  Ugh.  Yes, it really DID take that long.  I swear, no joke, it took us 10 different tries to get our picture right.  Not to mention the direction giving in between each "shot".  Not to mention that it was near the end of the day and no one was listening.  Not to mention that my classroom is a sauna, and heats up even more when I get flustered (yes, I know it's really just me, but I like to blame the a/c). 

Anyways, I thought I FINALLY got the perfect one, and I went to post it on the website.  See how cute?!

In case you can't see, it says "Hip "Hippo" Ray, We *heart* Our Donors!"

BUT UUUUUUGGGGHHHHH again!!!!  The website automatically crops it in a square, and since my picture was more horizontal, it cropped half my students out!  ARG.  Do you see my frustrations?!?! 

So another BILLION photos, with another BILLION problems....and in the end, we finally got the perfect picture.

A teensie blurry, but I'm not complaining!!! :)

You'd figure by 2nd grade, we could listen to directions and know how to "squeeze" for pictures.  You'd figure we'd know how to "kneel" or "squat just a little", but I guess I was wrong.  So future note to self (and others who are reading), when taking important pictures, ALWAYS allow for more time (probably 4 times as much!) than you originally planned. 

This leaves me wondering, though, how do the professional class picture people do it so quickly and effortlessly.....ugh (one last long sigh...)....okay, now I'm done with frustrations and moving on!

At the end of the day, though, our "project" is LIVE and ready for donations!!! (Woo-Hoo!!!)  So if you feel like giving, or know someone who would, by all means, head on over to: www.donorschoose.org/hubbardhippos

I'll keep you posted and let you know if all the stress is worth the outcome!  Crossing my fingers for lots of donation success! :)
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!