The thing that I've taken the most delight in with the onset of the cold, snowy weather has been watching the kids play at recess and lunch time at school. The snow seems to change everything about how they play. The playground has been pretty much abandoned and imaginations have been set on fire as groups of girls play together in the snow. One group of girls from my class have built a snow fort called 'Candy Land' and have written a national anthem (to the tune of the Canadian anthem of course) for their fort, a song that tells of standing guard for the gummy bears and chocolate drops. Another group of thrill-seekers have taken to sliding down the hills in the school grounds - on their stomachs, backs, feet first, head first, any which way. A third group have been seeing how many snow angels will fit in the school grounds. It's a lot of fun to watch.
It's also a huge change from the Australian school yard where often it is very hot and kids are seeking shade, not snow. Most Australian schools have a 'no hat, no play' policy which Canadians find a little odd. A hat is a very easy thing to slap on your head before going out to play. Snow pants, winter jacket, scarf, beanie (called a toque in Canada), gloves and snow boots are not so easy to put on. I've now realised that recess extends to about 30 minutes as opposed to the usual 20 minutes because the girls take forever to rug up before heading out to play and then strip off when coming back inside. I am learning a lot about what to wear too. I've realised that my lovely Italian leather boots don't retain any warmth (or dryness) in the snow. Now, I wear them inside only and take my snow boots to school for outside times. My Australian winter jackets aren't cutting it either; I've been wearing my down jacket at school every day for the past week or so. Every day, the kids ask me if I have got a pair of snow pants yet so that I can join them playing in the snow. I think I may just have to get some so I can see what all the fuss is about!
It's also a huge change from the Australian school yard where often it is very hot and kids are seeking shade, not snow. Most Australian schools have a 'no hat, no play' policy which Canadians find a little odd. A hat is a very easy thing to slap on your head before going out to play. Snow pants, winter jacket, scarf, beanie (called a toque in Canada), gloves and snow boots are not so easy to put on. I've now realised that recess extends to about 30 minutes as opposed to the usual 20 minutes because the girls take forever to rug up before heading out to play and then strip off when coming back inside. I am learning a lot about what to wear too. I've realised that my lovely Italian leather boots don't retain any warmth (or dryness) in the snow. Now, I wear them inside only and take my snow boots to school for outside times. My Australian winter jackets aren't cutting it either; I've been wearing my down jacket at school every day for the past week or so. Every day, the kids ask me if I have got a pair of snow pants yet so that I can join them playing in the snow. I think I may just have to get some so I can see what all the fuss is about!
(I would have loved to have posted some of the lovely pictures I have taken of the kids playing in the snow but obviously, it wouldn't be right to share them on a personal blog ... so, you'll just have to imagine 26 delighted 8 and 9 year old girls playing in the snow!)
1 comment:
Amazing post...!!! really I appreciate it.
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