An Ode To Doctor Who, Snow and Spring

Seriously we are done with snow.
 

Snowy St. Patrick's Day

Snowschooling 2011 Day 2

A quiet walk to the library.

A big hill and friends provides hours of fun.

A frozen pond and science observation.

Snowschooling 2011 Day 1

Recently a friend asked my son "What do you do on a snow day?" His bemused reply was "Have school in the snow." Since we have moved north I try to incorporate snow days into our school plans. Last year we had a blast discovering the joys of snow. It was a challenge with 40 plus inches of snow of the ground and Dad for constant company for week but it was one of the best weeks of last school year. So in Ironhides mind it is just the nature of things to include weather, national events or moving into what we are learning.

Secretly I have been yearning for snow days just to slow down the pace of life. We have been on a head long rush since December with plays, concerts, play dates, parties, holidays, visitors, birthdays and classes. I love the quiet of life that accompanies more than six inches of snow. In this area six inches seems to be the magic number between "Oh, it going to snow" and "Close everything down it is going to snow."

Well last week we got full out DC Snow panic with 10 plus inches of snow during rush hour. It was a dangerous time to travel and the wet heavy snow left thousands without power.

We watched as our driveway go from this

to this in just under 5 hours.

We learned a lot that night about preparing for emergencies and directed prayer. Daddy arrived home safe after 6 plus hours.

Snowschooling Post Blizzards: President’s Day

Yesterday started out late after a late night of watching the Olympics. We had fun as a family watching the games. But we paid for in the morning, tired and lacking directions. That was completely my fault for not getting up and setting the tone for the day. But hey homeschooling is about whole family learning.

Also as we were suiting up for our nature walk it started to snow. Ironhide is so over snow at this point. Personally I am running out of snow related fun things to do in the lesson plans. We still have Texas roots which like to get out and run this time of year. I have fought the expensive of going to one of those inside playscapes but if it snows again tomorrow, it cannot be avoided. The young man needs to run.

Workbox	Monday
1	Magic School Bus Re Aloud-Cells
2	Listen and Learn-Positional Words
3	Read Aloud –Why President's Day
4	BrainPopJr. – Abraham Lincoln Movie
5	Craft- Make Lincoln's Log Cabin
6	FIAR-Owl Moon Social Studies-Family
7	Jump Around
8	FIAR-Owl Moon Science-Owl Games
9	Co-Op Homework-Review-Water Cycle
10	FIAR-Owl Moon Dramatization of Book
11
12

Snowschooling Part 1

Weatherman more aptly meteorologists are known for being wrong. So when the local weatherman indicated earlier this week that we would be in for a major snow storm most people just ignored it. We didn't for two reasons.

First we have been studying the weather as part of our homeschool academic co-op. We have learned how to make our own barometers and thermometer.

Homemade Barometer

We have learned what barometric pressure means and what it indicates. We have study clouds conditions and have been studying snow for the past week.

Snow Ice Cream

Ice Sculpture

Secondly, since we have been here the local meteorologist Doug Hill has not steered me wrong when it comes to snow. During the fall he was batting zero with the rain but that all turned around in December with that first snow fall of six inches. Being new to the area and never having to deal with snow in Texas I over prepared. But it was a learning experience. Two weeks later when he predicated 12 inches of snow the week before Christmas I battened down the hatches, hit Costco, raided the library and settled in for our first blizzard. Doug was right we got 12 inches plus 10 more inches as a Christmas present. The city came to a standstill. So now I listen to Doug every day.

Library Stash

This week Doug again indicated we would be in for possibly recorded breaking snow and winds. This time it was different, he was urging people to prepare for three to five days of being stuck at home. He even put an emergency response information guide on the website and urged people to print it out in case they lost power. Ok, no power means no heat. This was going to be epic.

That put me into overdrive so I put together the menu plan, got all the meds, raided the library again and grocery store. Friday morning dawn and I had forgotten my Costco run. The snow was scheduled to start at 10am and Costco doesn't open until 10am! YIKES! So we headed to Costco around 8am to wait outside because we knew there would be a line. I knew this was serious because Costco opened at 8AM. We were in and out in less than 20 minutes. With the car loaded with previsions and the gas tank full we headed home. The snow started to fall as we pulled into the driveway at 9:30AM.

And it didn't stop snowing for almost 30 hours……..

To Be Continued

Snowmageddon Northern Virginia

Merry Christmas

Let It Snow Let It Snow

Final tally by the end of the day 6 inches of fun.

Wordy Wednesday - Central Texas Snow/Ice December

During our calendar review yesterday TS predicted snow for today. I spent the better part of the morning explaining to TS that it never snows here for Christmas. He insisted that it had to snow sometime before the 25th in order to really be the Christmas season. It was 80 degrees yesterday so I was very confident in my prediction. We watched the forecast which indicated a cold front but no sleet or snow. "See no snow son."

After we put him to bed last night we heard an unfamiliar ping ping on the roof. Sleet! Seriously in Central Texas in December, unbelievable. Then flurries....

TS was thrilled when he awoke this morning. "Mom I was right. Mom I am a meteorologist! Can we make snow angels?" I have to explain why this won't work but I think my creditability is somewhat in question. :-)