The Snow Day Dilemma

One of the most joyous things that I remember growing up was the anticipation of a snow day.  Rising to see if the forecast was correct and snow had saved us from school.  Snow, playing it's perfect role, as hero of the day.  I struggle with how to recreate that feeling of freedom now that I'm homeschooling my own children. 

I woke this morning to a snow day.  The local schools had cancelled classes.  No buses were running.  Snow was the hero.  Unfortunately, there was not enough snow to really go out and play in it.  There was no real reason for us to cancel our classes.  We scrapped our plan to go to a local museum.  If it wasn't safe for buses it seemed foolish  to climb in the car and try the roads.  Yet, having school as usual seemed like a cruel trick on a snow day.  Especially a snow day that had cancelled a field trip.


Instead, I let the children sleep late.  We started our Advent study.  We cleaned the house for the home inspection at 1pm.  We listened to the end of The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma that we've been enjoying so much.  We played Yahtzee.  We practiced music.  We popped popcorn and watched movies.  It wasn't a full day of rigorous school work.  It wasn't a total waste either.  It was a snow day and I hope that my children remember snow days as being something out of the ordinary even when school takes place at home.