Snow Day!

Part of Margaret starting school has been going through a number of rituals that I remember from my childhood.  It's been mostly good.  (Although -- and there will be a post on this later filled with RAGE-FILLED ALL CAPS and ranting -- suggesting that preschool children should bring HANDMADE valentines crosses over into insanity very quickly).  Last Thursday, as feet of snow fell on Missouri, Margaret's school was cancelled.  As, in fact, was mine, but I wasn't supposed to teach that day, which meant that it was a complete waste of a snow day.

Anyway, they gave her homework.

I'm going to let that sink in for a minute.

They gave her homework.  Of course, her homework was to go out and play in the snow, and pay attention to texture and depth and what-have-you.  And then come in and draw a picture of the snow.  I was game for this activity, except that this was what Margaret was wearing.

And while an adorable swimming costume, this is not appropriate wear for snowy excursions.  Also, both girls were still snotty, so we didn't go outside.

Which of course means that the first time one of my kids had homework, I blew it off.  Whoops.

I did, however, help Margaret complete an art project about the snow.  We talked about what her favorite things to do in the snow were, and -- Hallelujah! -- her mostest favoritest* one was building a snowman.

We can do that.  I was afraid it was going to be sledding or some other difficult-to-draw activity.

Anyway, we pulled out the scissors, and Margaret and I cut things.

And then we taped (well, Margaret taped, I just got her pieces of tape) circles that I cut out to a page of blue paper, and Margaret drew features for it.

I'm kind of proud of this.

In the meantime, Ellie used her almost-walking skills.

She saw a drawer.  She loves drawers.

She did what any decent baby would do, and climbed into the drawer.

And then, realizing her predicament, she got a little upset.

And we got her out.  It was a nice, warm, indoors sort of day.  Ellie climbed many more things, and -- as seen in the last series of pictures of Margaret -- Margaret eventually put some clothes on.

*This is me.  Margaret would never say something like that.