Day 1
We are always looking for ways to recycle and repurpose materials. We had a vision of the 7 Habits tree grabbing students’ attention with colorful signs that appear almost like on a tree fort. Therefore we decided to repurpose some wood pallets that were donated to us. It took some serious synergy to break apart the pallets. Protective eye gear was worn as we employed crowbars to break down the pallets.
Once the boards were disassembled, we utilized hammers to knock out the remaining nails.
Our next step was to use sealer to prepare the wood. We made sure to seal both the front and back of each piece of wood as well as the sides. Rollers were able to quickly get this job done. While the sealant was drying, we utilized a Cricket to cut out the letters to spell out each of the habits. We used thick pieces of cardstock for the letters.
Once the letters spelling each habit were cut out, we used small tubes of painter’s tape to affix the letters to the sealed pieces of wood. We choose to not line up the letters in a straight line; rather, we decided to put the letter on a bit haphazardly so that they looked a bit more like a child might write them. Next, we spray painted the tops and sides of each piece of wood. When we applied the spray paint, we found that it was important to make sure we were spraying directly down on top of the letters we had affixed to the wood so that we could outline the letters that spelled out the habits.
Day 2
With the signs naming each habit complete, we wanted to tie in the sayings that correspond to each habit. For example, Habit 3, Put First Things First, corresponds with the catch phrase Think First, Then Play.
We chose to use 3 large pots and 4 smaller pots. The pots were then created in much the same way we made the signs. First we applied sealer on the whole outside as well as several inches inside each pot. While the sealer on the pots was drying, we again used the Cricket to cut out the letters to each catch phrase.
Once the sealer was dry, we utilized painter’s tape to affix the catch phrases to each pot. Next, we used the same spray paint we made the habits signs with to paint each pot. We made sure that each catch phrase was done in the color that coordinated with the habits signs we made on a previous day.
Day 3
The third day was all about the installation of the signs and the planting and arranging of the pots. Prior to installing the habits signs on the oak tree we had to trim a few branches. We ended up using an axe to cut the branches, but in hindsight a branch cutter would have made the tree trimming a bit easier. Once the branches were removed or cut back, we then began by installing the first three habits. We affixed those three habits to two pieces of wood that we painted brown. Then we dug two shallow holes, sunk the brown pieces of wood in them and proceed to pound the dirt back in around the base so that the first three habits stood upright. When you step back, it appears as if the first three habits are actually in the ground, much like they are in the Franklin Covey representation of the 7 Habits tree.
Our next step was to affix the other five habit signs to the oak tree.
While our 7 Habits oak tree is looking quite nice, we have a few more finishing touches we want to add. One addition will include repurposing plastic bottles to make a Chihuley sculpture reminiscent of the sun which will be hung from the oak tree. The other is creating a sign that simply says “The 7 Habits” which will be hung above the habits signs on the oak tree. This will enable visitors to our school who may not be familiar with the 7 Habits to recognize them and understand what is being shown on our oak tree.
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