This year in my library (FYI: my day job is elementary school librarian), the kids are making a storybook house from cardboard boxes and recyclables. Every week we add a room–Jack’s beanstalk-green bedroom, Little Red’s ruby-hued bachelorette pad, etc. Right now we’re working on the Three Bears’ kitchen, where a golden-curled interloper slurps up soup and breaks chairs.

The students do their creative best with glue sticks and dull scissors. But sometimes I help out on the sly. This is such a case.

Armed with toilet paper cardboard rolls, scrapbook paper and my trusty glue gun, I happily spent an evening making three chairs–in varying sizes. I sliced and narrowed the toilet paper roll for Baby Bear’s squat seat, and sliced and joined two rolls for Papa Bear’s wide berth. (Mama Bear’s medium chair didn’t need adjusting. It was just right.)

I wish I had directions to share, but I don’t. In keeping with the spirit of our library project, I just winged it and left things in crude form. I will post photos of the storybook house soon though so you can see the kids’ imaginative handiwork. They amaze me.