Yesterday was the first day of school and boy, did we have fun! I have some posts coming about that, but in the meantime, I want to show you this awesome globe lamp that I made to hang above my desk. (I’m still catching up on posts from pre-week as you can see.)

Turn a globe into a lamp

This is another idea I found on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to try. My friend, Randy, teaches a maintenance class to our middle school students, where one of the main projects is how to put together a lamp. I’ve told him for years that I wish I could take his class too, so this was an opportunity to glean at least a little of the knowledge that his students learn from him.

Using his Dremel tool, Randy cut the globe at the 50 degree south lateral line, and I sanded the cutting smooth. You could make the cut where you wish (including halfway up like they did here here), but I chose this line so that I could focus the light on my desk and keep most of the continents on the glove. We then drilled a small hole on the top of the globe and inserted the lamp fixture. These can be found in pretty reasonably priced kits at any hardware store. With Randy’s help, I learned how to identify where to place each cable and how to hang it from the ceiling above my desk.

Globe Lamp

A lot of times I hear teachers say they are too busy to ever get around to doing the things they want to do. I can totally understand that feeling, but I also think it’s important to make time to try fun new things. For me, projects like this are a way to refresh my energy and inspiration – both key ingredients of good teaching. In fact, I am thinking of joining a weekly square dancing class.

How about you? What do you do to get re-inspired and refreshed?