SNOW DAY!

We are expected to get over 25 cm (9.84 inches) of snow today, so all the schools are cancelled!  There is a beatiful snowfall going on outside my window.  I love when it snows all day, especially when I have no where to go.  So I will be making snow forts in the back yard with the kids today, making extra arts and crafts (maybe some finger painting as well), and we'll be baking some chocolate chip banana muffins!  MMMMMMM!  That's one thing we do almost every time there is a NO school day.  Of course, being home schooled, my own children could still technically do school work on a day when other schools are cancelled.  But being that I do home child care and will have a full house of excited children, there would be too many distractions for them.  So I tell them that when their friends get a 'snow day',  they can have one, too.  We still do Reading Buddies and story time with the whole group of kids, creative writing, and sometimes I throw in a bit of a science lesson as well.  I find that the children really enjoy earth sciences, so when I am teaching my children a lesson on invertibrates, or we are discussing different types of rocks, etc. they have their eyes glued to the pictures or objects we are using for the lesson.  Right now we are on a unit about spiders and the children love to learn new creepy things!  I couldn't believe that the Daddy Longlegs isn't really a spider!  According to our science book,  it only has one body section so it is not classified as a spider even though it has eight legs.  That was my favourite spider as a child, so I was disappointed to find that out.  It's still in the class of arachnids, along with scorpions, ticks, and mites (yuck).  I actually have fun learning all those cool things that you might only use on Jeopardy, but would also come in handy on a nature hike or camping.  I have to do a section with slugs and leeches in a few weeks - gross!  I might let my husband do that one, but the kids certainly like watching me squirm when I have to discuss something I find creepy.  I think the reaction must help them retain memory better, because they seem to master those topics very well!


It's been a fast-flying week!  I can't believe it's Friday already!  I'm going to go enjoy a cup of Stash Chai tea with milk, and get out our painting smocks!  Hope you all drive safe today, and have fun!  I dare you to toss a snowball or make a snowman today!  Ok, you can knit or crochet a snowman, too.  That counts.

P.S.  Thanks to everyone for being sooo helpful by answering my technical questions in the previosu posts.  You are wonderful!