Friday, January 16, 2009

Winter Break, Part 2--What to do on a Snow Day

On Wednesday this week as I drove from Ottawa to Coal City work I sulkily noted that all of the schools were closed here.  NONE of the Grundy County schools were closed.  In a conversation  had with my boss later, I jokingly told him I wanted a clause in my new contract for next year stating that when schools are closed in Ottawa, I get to stay home too.  He remarked that I wasn't the first one to make that request to him that day.  The school day commenced and schools in Grundy County began releasing their students early: Morris around 11:30, smaller southern schools by 1:00.  My frustration level rose.  I found out that Coal City was one of 2 districts in Grundy who kept their kids all day and as I was servicing the students in one of our specialized programs (students 1st through 3rd grade who have mental impairments and are in life skills oriented classes), the students from the districts releasing early had to be sent home because their busses would not be running at normal dismissal time.  I was greatful for a little extra time to get paperwork done and understood why Coal City kept their kids.  By the time they dismissed at 2:45 the snow had stopped and roads were getting cleared (slowly) by the plows.  Still, I felt I could have had a more productive day at home. 

Well, in the end I got what I wanted that's for sure.  By 8:00 on Wednesday night I had received phone calls informing me that due to the frigid temperatures, school would not be in session on Thursday.  I was glad of it mainly because I know so many kids who have to stand outside at bus stops or who walk to school--too dangerous in this cold.  By 8:00 last night, I received a similar call for today.  Plus, with a holiday Monday to observe Martin Luther King Day, I've just been given a second winter break.  5 whole days off in a row in January.  Wow!  I'll take it.

And in case you're wondering, this is what we do in the Swanny household on our snow (or too-cold-to-go-out) days:
Stay in your pajamas as long as possible


Read the newspaper....


Or catch up on the 2 weeks worth of papers you haven't had time to read yet


Play MANY games of Hungry Hungry Hippos


Finally apply and put up your new uppercase living decoration


Practice standing (and dancing)


Explore your new Moon Sand


Play on your Leapster before nap


Tantrum when you wake up from nap because mom's taking your picture not feeding you a snack!


Enjoy your afternoon snack (goldfish for Peanut....yogurt for Swanny Jr.)


Make cookies


Or play in the tupperware cupboard while sis and mom make cookies


Have a Light Saber Duel



Laugh a lot and play a ton!
Stay warm everyone!

5 comments:

mountainmomma said...

What a great post! It was so cold today in WV that they cancelled class (which did not help me as our school does not start until Tuesday). I think my fav. pic was throw tantrum because mom is taking your pic instead of giving you a snack. I swear as soon as Lilly wakes up from her morning nap she is like "uh yeah hi, can i have a waffle now?"

The Mrs. said...

Looks like you had a great couple of snow days. Isn't this unexpected extra long weekend fabulous? We had several games of Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Leapster playing here too. I was also able to get my house clean and laundry finished before the weekend - hooray!

Unfortunately Punkin & Shortcake are also dealing with some nasty colds, so I think the timing of these days off are just right.

Enjoy the rest of your mini-vacation!

Anonymous said...

What was Maggie doing ?
Nice Uppercase Living decoration ! It's a good thing you got it when you did they already took Namaste out of the new catalog so I didn't even get a chance to get it.

Julie

jen said...

Sorry to neglect Mags--she was (excitedly) enjoying a couple of rawhides she discovered of Leia's. (And napping). :)

Amber said...

Happy New Year! That's a fun idea to take pictures of all the stuff you do during your day off. Friday was our 5th snow day (we had 2 from before and 3 from last week), so maybe I'll have to use that idea if we have another one.