We had our first snow of the year last night, and it’s just beautiful out.  I got an early morning call from another mom asking me to take over carpool for our high school boys for her, since the school opening time was delayed to 10 am (because of the snow).  I said okay, but at 9 am, got another call saying that school was cancelled because of problems with the heating system.  Hooray – I didn’t have to do an extra carpool and most importantly, we get to have ds14 home with us today!

The kids are building an igloo.  And I don’t mean an eentsy weentsy one, either – it will fit several children inside when they’re done (or one 6 ft adult lying down).  When the kids want to do something, they really do it!  They’re packing snow tightly down into a plastic box, then stacking the ‘snow’ blocks in a staggered pattern.  So far they’ve made three rows high.  I don’t know how they can stay outside for so many hours in the cold, but I guess it’s because they’re staying so active.  Bit by bit they’re trickling in – the third child has just come in, and each of them are soaked through.  Their coats and gloves are going directly from their hands into the dryer!

I initially planned for everyone to follow our regular schedule, but after breakfast, I told them to just go out and enjoy the snow.  What’s the point of having the flexibility of homeschooling if I don’t take advantage of it sometimes?  Whatever work they have to do will wait, but the first snow of the year is only here once. 

Avivah