I don’t ever remember the school bus being a particularly warm place in the dead of a New England winter. Sure, it was better than walking, but I think we were warmed mostly by our own youthful sense of excitement about going to school or going home. Later, of course, it just wasn’t cool to admit you were cold, which might explain why some grown men continue to wear short pants even in the middle of winter. (Note to grown men wearing short pants in the middle of winter: You look foolish.)
A large chunk of the country is held in the grip of extreme cold at the moment, and my old stomping grounds of New England have been blanketed with plenty of fresh snow. Waiting outside for a school bus can be downright dangerous in subzero temperatures, and I’ve been in more than a few school buildings where such arctic conditions have strained heating systems to the point of breakdown.
I suspect that no matter where you live and teach, you are challenged at times by unique weather conditions, as many of us are right now. What special adjustments have you had to make to keep your classroom running during extreme weather? Share your ideas and anecdotes with us.
Since being off for the Christmas break, we have been hit by a snowstorm and now the polar vortex here in Michigan. So far the count is 18 days of NO school,. Here in Michigan we often have to stay inside for long periods of time. I step up the dancing and the active games. But the other thing is we are lucky enough to have a large coat room. I have a climber and other large equipment out there. I break up the day for the kids by taking 6 of them out there at a time and let them go wild to burn off the energy and rotate through the entire class. Its amazing how some will just run and run in there. After everyone has had a turn we sit down and do our regular work. Let them burn off the energy and they will be ready to learn.
Hi from a very chilly North Dakota. We did have a cold day on Monday as the wind chills were approaching -60 below zero. (My power went out for an hour. Boy did it get cold fast in the condo!) We went back on Tuesday with “warmer” wind chills at -40 something with temps to -20. We go outside for recess until it reaches colder than -10 below. Inside recess has been common since December as our wind chills have been brutal since then. We are looking at the low thirties an Friday. Yeah! Keep warm everyone!