Polar Vortex #2

So, it's cold again.  And this time it involves snow.  Monday we were in school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (with lots of prospective students visiting since the public schools had the day off), and at the end of the day they announced that we'd be closed Tuesday because of a forecasted snow storm.

The storm did indeed happen.  Snow began around 7am and continued all day and into the evening hours.  We probably received around 5 inches or so.  Temperatures dropped all through the day, to a low of 2 degrees F by Wednesday morning.  Because of the cold and the yucky roads, they called off school on Wednesday too.

Tuesday was an online learning day, which meant that I posted assignments on our online LMS for my 7th and 8th grade students to complete at home.  The girls had already come home with a snow day folder with activities for them to do in the event of school day spent at home.  This is a really neat innovation that allows us to stay home due to weather but still count the day as a school day.

The girls both worked hard on Tuesday to get their work done, and then boredom abounded.  Especially from Sophie, who must have said "What can I do now?" at least 20 times that day.  Eventually they went outside to play for a bit, as well as complete part of Sophie's work which was to measure the snow in several places and then bring some inside to see how long it took to melt.

Wednesday was not an online learning day, it was a true old-fashioned snow day.  And boy, was it different!  I gave the girls a short "to do" list in the morning that included cleaning up their rooms and at least 30 minutes of reading time.  After completing that, they played and played and played together all day long.

The game of choice for the day involved them being parents to 4 daughter each (their dolls).  They began their journey in Sophie's room and then traveled to other places around the house for camping trips and what not.  Here are some photos they took of themselves in Sophie's room using the camera on their new Chromebook:

They would travel to new locales with a very sophisticated sled-type device, as seen here:

Here they are camping in the TV room and then again in the foyer:

They also camped in the dining room for a spell.  There were various stops on the elaborate camping trip.  They intended to go see a movie (watch something on TV) but got so wrapped up in their play that they ran out of time.

So far some nearby school districts have already cancelled school for tomorrow (Thursday), and we just received a text that we'll be on a 2-hour delay.  Thank goodness, as I think we're all ready to return to school!