the things snow does to people

i awoke this morning with the promise of snow.  or at least ice.  precipitation with some level of frozen-ness.  i thought "surely, with this promise will come a delay, an early closing, perhaps even a full-on closing (hey, a girl can dream)" but of course everything was right on time.  and it was a cold, drizzly rain on my way to school.  boo.

thankfully, the children were in rare form today.  there were no glaring behavioral problems, and they were especially cuddly.  at circle, several kids flocked to me, vying for a seat near at least a part of me.  during worktime (where they go play with toys and develop life skills) i had a few come lean against me for a few moments or give me a hug.  one cried when another teacher came to help her instead of me (which is something we must work on because that's not great behaviorally).  one even told me i looked like a kiss (which i am pretty sure is a good thing).  these kids are total charmers which made up, at least in part, for the icky weather.

then it switched from freezing rain to snow.

suddenly the teachers were all chattering in the halls and visiting everyone's classrooms, peeking in asking if they'd heard any news and sharing anything they knew about the weather/traffic/school closings.  a lot of the kids (at least in my class) were totally unaware of the snow at all.  they are simply too short to see out the windows.

once they did discover the wonder of the weather they cheered and bounced around and generally reveled.  i love how big their eyes got when they saw the snow falling.  one, while waiting to go home, even sang me a song about how he was going to make a snowman.  a girl one.  with buttons, a scarf, a coat, and i'm pretty sure he wanted to use my hair on the top.  we didn't negotiate specifics.

naturally we did not get out early at all, so we had to get the kids bundled up and walk them down slippery steps in the midst of some heavy-falling snow (not an easy feat with four-year-olds) to get them to the busses.  and then it was time to worry about all of the teachers going home.  lots of uneasy chuckles and "drive safe"s.  i made it back safe and sound, and haven't gone outside since.

and now i'm compulsively checking school closings for tomorrow.  it (i'm sure) is totally nasty outside and will only get worse as snow continues and it all becomes a thick layer of ice.  and still ...

nothing.

at least if we have school tomorrow i will be able to teach my first real lesson.  will be sure to report on how that goes.