We've already had four snow days this year (unless I'm mistaken--pretty sure it was two days in a row two weeks or so ago, and then two days in a row this week). Last year we went over our "quota" for snow days, so the kids had to make some of the time up. They extended their school days before and after school by a few minutes, for about two weeks. It made for a rushed day and kind of cramped some of their after-school activities, but it sure beat trying to add those days to the end of the year! (Or taking time off of Spring Break, etc.) While I don't think we've had as much snow as we did last year (at least, not yet), we're close to our limit on snow days. The school system here sets aside five days per school year. So hopefully, if they have any more snow days, there'll be only one.
The kids and I all get excited when there's going to be a snow day, and yet, we end up kind of looking forward to when they go back to school. So I'm going to list the pros and cons of snow days.
Pros
- A day off from school
- The opportunity to sleep in (at least in theory, it doesn't always work out that way for Mom)
- Relaxed atmosphere in the morning, which is not what it's like on school days (we're busy as bees in the mornings as we get ready--each girl has her own start-time at school, and there's lunches to get ready, papers to be signed, hats and gloves to be found, teeth to be brushed at the last minute, etc.)
- No rushing around in the afternoon, picking kids up from various school locations
- Time to do extra stuff we don't normally squeeze in (the other day it was painting and baking cookies, sometimes it's pla-doh, watching movies, playing dress-up, etc.)
- Extra time together--I know this sounds kind of corny, but I love spending time with my kids, even when they get under my skin, even when part of me wants to sneak away on my own mini-vacation for a day. My kids light up my life, and I'm pumped whenever they're home unexpectedly.
- Our schedules get thrown off--not only are we lazy during those snow days (whether or not we sleep in), but we don't run by the same schedule... so going back to our regular routine (even if we've only had one snow day) takes a little adjustment.
- Boredom. I know I listed a bunch of stuff we can do, and we often do all those things within the space of about an hour, and then it's "ho, hum, what can we do now?" or, worse, "can I have something to eat?" We're all subject to eating out of boredom, and it's really bad when I didn't shop for groceries anticipating the snow days! (read: less snack foods and 'fun' lunch items) It was particularly bad this time, as it was not only super snowy, but it was also too cold to go outside. (Wind chills were well below zero, and it's just dangerous going out for any amount of time then.)
- Of course, boredom leads to irritability. Everyone gets on each other's nerves, everyone wants to play on the computer at the same time, or they argue over which Wii game to play, or they can't agree on a movie, or they're not playing the pretend game the right way, etc. There's a lot of whining and yelling and door slamming, and there's a fair amount of crying, too. (None of it by me, this time, but it's always something I reserve the right to do!)
- The threat of having to make up work. This isn't a huge deal, in my opinion or in the kids' opinion. If they have to make it up, so be it. We work it out. But it is a con, and it's worth mentioning.
