Today is the 8th snow day we’ve had this winter. Cold Day may be a better description considering half of the time schools are closed not even due to road conditions, but because of extreme cold. Having spent the past 15 years in Texas this is fairly new to me. I love a day off school as much as the next guy, but especially right after Christmas break I was a bit disappointed about the kids missing school because they were ready to get back into the swing of things (okay maybe that was just me), and I would rather not have to drag out the school year when they are chomping at the bit to have summer vacation. That’s where the blizzard bags come in. Have you heard of this?
Public schools are obligated to have x amount of full school days a year. Some snow days are accounted for, but after a while if you miss too many days from snow then they end up tacking on extra days at the end of the year to make up for it. This is never fun. Not only because the teachers, parents, and of course students have been preparing for that glorious last day of school, but as far practical purposes the students aren’t even going to be in the right mindset for learning and it more than likely just becomes a formality that wastes everyones time.
So last week when the kids were off school AGAIN I saw an email from the principal where the subject line was Blizzard Bag, my mind immediately went to Diary Queen. Then I opened up attachment to find that it had nothing to do with ice-cream, but was several worksheets that were to make up for the time lost through the snow day. Our school district allows for 5 “calamity days” and after that they have now approved up to 3 blizzard bag days where the students can do their work from home in order to count as a school day. I love this concept! I had Z do his work right away last time and today I already have it printed off and ready to go, but you do actually have 2 weeks to turn it in. The older students have online programs that they use. For the students that don’t have computer access you can do it at the school on another date.
I guess we only have one more blizzard bag day left and then we are on our own, but every little bit helps. Here are a few of the times we’ve been out in the snow when it wasn’t too cold and we weren’t too sick.
The Cincinnati Nature center is beautiful and we got a membership for Christmas this year.
I gave SJ a sled to pull and she insisted I put Ezie in the sled.
This is at a nearby park that we frequent and the “slopes” are terrifying great! Some people were even snowboarding.
Three kids at the top of the hill
We’ll stay inside today because it’s 1 degrees… degree… it’s one out? I don’t even know how to say it. Anyway, it’s just too cold. Whew.
This winter is just crazy. It's funny, I just saw on Facebook this morning someone I know in Ohio complaining they got blizzard bags. So funny! I wonder if they are in the same district as you, or maybe lots of schools are doing this.
I know some people are frustrated by it, but from the comments I read on the school's Facebook page most parents are pleased with the system. In the end it is a lot less work considering it is the equivalent of being in class all day and they can do it from the comfort of home. To me it's better than prolonging the school year, but I might feel differently if/when I have multiple students and in higher grade levels.
Very fun! I heard of the blizzard bags from someone else, and I thought it was a genius idea. My first thought though was of the kids who don't have access to internet in order to get the make up work. I wonder if they just are behind on the school work? I love the sledding pics. I am not a fun mom and hate the cold, so we've been having lots of indoor fun!
I can't even imagine the type of cold that you're experiencing! I'll take my low of 30 degrees! We've actually had "snow" days today & Friday, but we've only had some ice. And we don't have the resources to properly handle the roads in Houston. You know how it goes!