Whether the Weather be Cold, or whether the Weather be Hot...

The old children's verse could not be more apt for a Minnesotan and especially for a Minnesotan who homeschools!

The school year has gone relatively quietly with no major disruptions to educational efforts, but I'm going a little bit easier on the kids this year. I do that sometimes. Some years I'm super focused and organized and some years, depending on the students in the house, I'm a lot more like an "unschooler"*. 

Since a lot of people have been consulting me lately on homeschooling, I figured I'd take the time to talk about one aspect of it: The Weather (and its effect on the homeschooling day).

Obviously, we're not as subject to the whims of the weather in Minnesota (and Minnesota weather DOES have whims!) as a family which might absolutely need to be a certain place in the morning at a certain time, but because we do live in the world with everybody else, the question arises every time: "Should WE take a "snow day" too?".

Just like all other kids, the homeschooled kid knows that something is up when there are no buses running because even the plows haven't gone by yet and it's all everyone's been talking about for days! Personally, I would probably be likely to take advantage of the day with special projects relating to the weather system. Writing, Math, History, Science, Reading...THINK of it! The possibilities of using the unusually great snow amounts (for this year, anyway) are endless! I think about how awesome my lessons will be and how it will go down as a red banner day in regards to their education and brain growth and stores of knowledge!

So, you wonder what we actually did do today? We worked together to deep clean a few rooms and then went outside to play in the snow. 

Again, just like all other kids, MY kids want a "day off" too! SO, we do what "all the other kids are doing" and enjoy the little bubble of fun our yard becomes when it's fort building time (Gym class) and come inside for some warm cocoa (Math class...measurements, you know), settle down to some good books about the snow (Reading period), and maybe even make some cool snowflakes to put up on the windows to match what's happening outside of them (Art class). 

Yep, we've got this "day off" thing licked because "...we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not!"

*"Unschooler" Unschooling is a philosophy of homeschooling that is summarized here. I don't totally disagree with it but I also do not totally subscribe to it! Notice I said "a LITTLE bit"!