Snow Day, and Snow Half-Day
In November, we had a freak, unforecasted snowstorm here in New Jersey that left our kids stranded at school--or, worse, on their school buses--for several hours. It was a mess. Children were without food, water, or bathrooms on the buses, and no one was able to locate the buses, and parents were setting out on foot to try to find their kids. The roads were so terrible that it was taking parents two or more hours to drive to our school--normally a seven-minute drive. Lucia goes to a school she can walk to, so she came home without a problem. Greta, however, was stuck at her school until 7:30pm. This was actually the best of a bad situation, since she was with her teacher, and there were food, water, and bathrooms, and the heroic teachers kept 100+ kids occupied with snacks, games, and movies until every one of them was taken home. Two neighbor dads drove 2+ hours to pick up all the kids at our bus stop. To put it mildly, it was awful.
Our school district was--obviously--scared silly by this fiasco and the furious parents, and since then any forecast of snow has been treated with outsized caution. We've had delayed openings and a couple of snow days. Two weeks ago, the forecast changed suddenly and we got a robo-call at noon saying, in essence, A WHITEOUT IS COMING AT 2PM COME AND GET YOUR KIDS AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN HURRY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HURRY HURRY HURRY. Today we had an early dismissal. No one wants to have a repeat of November.
On our snow day last week, Lucia and Greta spent most of the day in the basement with bottles of soap, shampoo, mousse, shaving cream, etc, making potions. They also had vinegar, baking soda, glue, and all the other fixin's for slime. They had so much fun. The basement was a wreck, but that's why we finished the basement, to have a place to make a wreck of epic proportions. We also baked cupcakes and watched Cupcake Wars. It was a perfect snow day.
Today, after their early dismissal, the kids played outside for a little while and then we worked on making some tiny books from a little kit they got for Christmas. We read a little of Toys Go Out, played Uno, and Andrew came home early and pulled them around on the sled. Then we cleaned up the entire house in preparation for the housecleaners, who come tomorrow (ie we moved all our junk out of the way so they can actually clean). I still have Christmas stuff around. It was a lot of cleanup.
Both kids are teetering on the edge of colds/fevers/sore throats, so we may be having another day at home even if the roads are clear. Fingers crossed they can have a normal day at school.
Our school district was--obviously--scared silly by this fiasco and the furious parents, and since then any forecast of snow has been treated with outsized caution. We've had delayed openings and a couple of snow days. Two weeks ago, the forecast changed suddenly and we got a robo-call at noon saying, in essence, A WHITEOUT IS COMING AT 2PM COME AND GET YOUR KIDS AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN HURRY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HURRY HURRY HURRY. Today we had an early dismissal. No one wants to have a repeat of November.
On our snow day last week, Lucia and Greta spent most of the day in the basement with bottles of soap, shampoo, mousse, shaving cream, etc, making potions. They also had vinegar, baking soda, glue, and all the other fixin's for slime. They had so much fun. The basement was a wreck, but that's why we finished the basement, to have a place to make a wreck of epic proportions. We also baked cupcakes and watched Cupcake Wars. It was a perfect snow day.
Today, after their early dismissal, the kids played outside for a little while and then we worked on making some tiny books from a little kit they got for Christmas. We read a little of Toys Go Out, played Uno, and Andrew came home early and pulled them around on the sled. Then we cleaned up the entire house in preparation for the housecleaners, who come tomorrow (ie we moved all our junk out of the way so they can actually clean). I still have Christmas stuff around. It was a lot of cleanup.
Both kids are teetering on the edge of colds/fevers/sore throats, so we may be having another day at home even if the roads are clear. Fingers crossed they can have a normal day at school.
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