27 Days of Learning

Three ½ days.

That is exactly how many days Trey and Sam have been “in school” in the last 27 days. Despite a nearly three week holiday from school from December 17 through January 4, and three “snow days” this week and counting, learning continues. Highlights include:

-Powdery snow is very fun to sled on, and wet snow is great for snowball and snowman-making.

-Wearing plastic bags over your socks will keep your feet dry while playing in the snow.

-Shoveling snow is hard work.

- Do you know the difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind? To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of 35 mph and reduce visibility to 1,300 ft or less and must last three hours or more.  There has not been a significant snow fall like the snow storm we had here Monday (8 inches) since 1993 (Blizzard, 23 inches) and 1988 (10 inches).

-You are never too old for Beatrix Potter books. We rediscovered her classic books and beloved characters with our cousin J the week of New Years. Trey’s favorite character is Tom Kitten because “he is very clever.” Samantha’s favorite character is Jemima Puddle-Duck. “She is fun to read about, and she is kind.” We also enjoyed surfing peterrabbit.com where the kids discovered which character they are most like. Trey is most like Squirrel Nutkin. He is a natural born entertainer but just as talented at getting into trouble. Samantha is just like Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. She keeps herself as busy as a bee, and she is kind. 

-We also learned that Peter Rabbit is the oldest licensed character in the world. A family friend recommended the movie on Beatrix Potter’s inspiring life: Miss Potter (2006). All four of us watched it recently, and it is a wonderful family film. If you haven’t seen it yet, your local library may have it, or it is available at amazon.com and on DVD from Netflix.

-In The Game of LIFE (Hasbro), Samantha learned that if you spend more money than your payday, you will be poor. Trey learned if you save money from payday, you will have a much more comfortable life.