Chalk Globe

Around the world with chalky hands! My youngest son got the classroom Panda (Pang Pang) for the weekend. He wanted to do something EPIC with Pang Pang. He wanted to draw the world on the driveway. We used a hula hoop to start the globe. I lightly traced the hula hoop one time. Then lined up the hula hoop near the traced circle to get a bigger circle– making a dash, then connecting all the dashes.

Now, it's time for photos. I drag out the ladder and prop it up on the angled driveway, climb way up and attempt to direct the placement of kids. Cars drive by during this process and people stare. For once, I was not wearing a dress. We even had a few people pull their cars over, get out and come see what we were working on.

While we were taking these photos, my little guy dropped Pang Pang on the edge of the ocean. POOF, blue chalk all over one of his perfectly white cheek. I did my best to POOF it off, then vacuum with no result. We tried: Shout, carpet cleaner, laundry detergent, cold water, hot water, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and washing it in the washer. I was going to do bleach, but I read online that sometimes it turns white things, yellow.

My kids go to a Chinese immersion school. Their faces turned white, eyes big… you are in so much trouble with the teacher. I must have spent no less than six hours trying to clean Pang Pang. I am not joking. Yeah, this is exactly how I wanted to spend my weekend. I waited all week for this fun. I texted my aunt, my dad and a few moms asking for help. I dug around on the internet. I tried everything to get that freaking Panda clean.

By Monday morning, I gave up. My hands were a bit raw. You could still tell there was so blue chalk but it was not nearly as bad. My daughter, said "It's fine. You will be okay". I was not okay, not at all. Around 3pm, the email went out from the teacher. She basically said that parents should not wash Pang Pang with colored things. Really? Come on.

That was not what happened! I am not that stupid. She knew we had Pang Pang, just talk to me about the blue cheek. I found out that she asked each student "Is it blue? Is it BLUE?" What kid is going to say no. I guess one kid did say it didn't look blue. I asked how that went over. My little guy said, not well.

Of course, I sent the teacher a note. I am a Tiger Mom myself. I can handle a Tiger Teacher. Another mom took Pang Pang home because her husband works at a dry cleaners. I guess Pang Pang got red stuff on him before (maybe lipstick?). The red stuff came out, but the blue chalk never did. Pang Pang is still blue and teacher… still not happy. But we have this really awesome globe photo!

Maybe, just maybe a white stuffed animal is not the best choice for a first grader to keep clean? I found out the year before the students had to keep the panda in a plastic bag. I am guessing next year, that Pang Pang will be back in that plastic bag. It will be awesome, like sitting on your Grandma's plastic-covered couches. Kids love to cuddle with a plastic-covered Panda. Our family ruined it for everyone. Stupid blue chalk.

This summer, that same teacher is asking different families to watch her dog in exchange for some Chinese lessons. A fellow parents wants me to volunteer to watch the dog, so I can dye it blue. The teacher never even asked us. I am guessing we are on the not-to-be-trusted list. Oh well, we tried. Next year we get "Da Da" the hand puppet. I really hate him. I might put him in a plastic bag for good measure.