I’m resting this weekend trying not to let whatever I caught from my students effect me too badly. Gotta love the germs.
I didn’t want to let a whole week go by without blogging but my brain is a bit foggy with sickness.
So, I’m going to ask something I’ve been curious about.
Teaching in California, I’ve never had a snow day. Our ‘bad weather’ is rain or cold. I fully understand that my version of cold isn’t cold to many of you. It’s been incredibly cold (on our scale of cold) here. We’ve been in the 20s and 30s in the mornings with highs in the 40s and 50s. Now, I imagine if you live where it snows, that sounds silly. Our kids however don’t own clothes to deal with the weather. I had a kid wearing shorts last week and only a handful wear jackets or gloves. Most have on sweatshirts.
Feel free to call me a spoiled Californian. Earlier this week there was ice on my windshield (happens a few times a year- this year a lot more). My husband poured some water on it which normally takes care of it for us. As I started backing out of the driveway, I noticed the water was turning into ice. That has never happened to me before. I realized that in other states, pouring water on the windshield isn’t the way to go. I’ve never scraped ice from my windshield. When it does hit freezing, it usually happens overnight and is a bit over freezing by the time we get up. So, this whole freezing cold thing has been unusual for us.
Our school isn’t set up for weather. All of our classrooms doors lead outside. Our “hallways” between classes are outside. Some have an overhang, many don’t. Our multiuse room can hold one or two classes for eating. So, on rainy days our kids eat and play in the classroom. Our fitness teachers teach fitness outside. If it rains, they teach it in our classrooms.
When it rains, if the rain starts coming down hard, kids all suddenly “have” to go to the bathroom. Really they just want to be able to come back to class soaking wet.
I’ve often thought that schools must not be built like this throughout the country. Other states must have actual buildings with hallways and cafeterias and gyms that can hold kids at lunch.
So, I’m curious about weather. How does it effect you as a teacher?
I hate rainy days at school. The kids spend their recess and lunch in the classroom. I have someone that comes in and stays with them at lunch so I can go eat. At recess, though, I’m stuck with them. I actually try not to drink water on rainy days because I don’t really have the chance for a bathroom break until lunch. Being stuck inside all day makes for very antsy kiddos.
What are rainy days like for you? What about snowy days? Do your kids eat in your classrooms?
I’d love to hear your answers and what state your in.
Wendy P says
Hi Mercedes,
I hope you are feeling better soon. I hate getting sick & have to admit I am a bit of germ freak. I know a teacher is around millions of germs how can I be? But sadly I am:(
Our weather in Ohio can effect us greatly and we have 5 (much loved)snowdays built into the school calendar. But we do not get to add them to end of the school year if we do not use them. We just lose them. Boo! That is what happened the last few years with our weird mild winters we have been having and I think this one is headed that way too. It currently is 62 degrees here when it usually is 32! We have gone at least a week or more without going outside for recess if it is under 32 degrees and the kids get a bit crazy. They either have to stay in the lunchroom or our classrooms for recess then. I do love spending time with my class but…. Everything in our school is attached thankfully so we never have to venture outside if it is bad. I have worked at schools where the lunchroom or gym was in another building and that stinks getting 25 kids bundled up just to go to lunch or gym. Talk about time consuming. I have even experienced my school closing early due to an pending blizzard that is hitting before we get out of school. Talk about a celebration. Winter can be tough on our achievement testing too which we do early – February. I worry with a lot of days off we may not get what we need in or worst we have to extend testing since a snowday or days hit during that time frame. So enjoy that beautiful California weather and get better soon.
Take care,
Wendy
Diane R says
Interesting question! I live in Iowa, and we handle snow days differently than Wendy. If we have a snow day (the superintendent determines that the roads are too dangerous to drive), we have to come on a day that we would have had off. For example, we had a snow day Dec. 20, so our day off on Feb. 18 is now a school day. We have one more day like that on our calendar. Any snow days beyond that get tacked on to the end of the school year. But sometimes if the fog is really bad or the snowplows just need a little extra time, we might have a two-hour late start. These are rare with our superintendent, but they "count" as a school day. Also, we might get out two hours early if there is a major blizzard headed our way. Also rare in our district, but still counts as a day of school.
As far as normal rain and snow during the day, I have a large window that pretty much takes up one wall in my room. So it's more of a distraction than anything else, especially snow. Rain isn't that big of a deal unless there's thunder. However, our building is set up with everything inside with hallways and everything, so weather doesn't typically affect how we run our day. They go outside for recess unless the wind chill is below 0˚F. If it's raining at my old school, they stay in the rooms, but the recess duty teachers circulate between the rooms so we don't have to stay there. At my new school, where we don't have recess except after lunch, they just stay in the lunchroom. They are allowed to take their electronics to lunch everyday, so it's usually not a big deal. They never eat in our classroom. In my old school, they ate in the classroom only when someone was setting up a concert or assembly in the gym, which wasn't that often (maybe three times a year).
Get better soon!
Diane
Fifth in the Middle
MrsMc says
I'm in Louisiana so we never have snow days, but we do have quite a bit of rain. Our school has some kind of tin roof or something which makes rain sound 100 times louder! On those days I have to talk a little louder which is frustrating. As far as my students, I have a few that are actually afraid of the rain so I have to remind them that everything is okay.
MrsMc from Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Angela Nerby says
I'm in WI and each district is different, but in mine the kids have 3 built in snow/cold days and the teachers have 2 (meaning if there are 3, teachers have to make one up, but the kids don't). We almost had a snow day this year but it didn't snow enough (got maybe 4-6 inches). One year we had 2 days in a row off because it snowed 20 inches!! That NEVER happens where I live! Sometimes we have "cold" days too, when the wind chill is -30+ degrees. It's too cold for the kids to be waiting at the bus stop. The teachers get into the snow/cold days as much as the kids do! Too funny!
I think it's crazy that you don't have indoor hallways or a gym at your school! Is that the norm in CA, or just your school? We have a cafeteria, and it's such a treat when the kids get to eat lunch in the classroom LOL! We have recess outside, but when it's rainy or too cold, they will have indoor recess. We have a common area in each wing of the school, so most of the kids play out there rather than in the classrooms.
Angela 🙂
Hippo Hooray for Second Grade!