No limits on Fun for Ohio’s 3 Snow Days

It is very likely that we are going to have a white Christmas in NE Ohio this year after the 2 storms that have pounded us! My kids have enjoyed the snow and I really have too! I love the trees covered in snow the best and of course the snow covered roads I hate the worse. My son is in kindergarten and has learned the complete joy and bliss of The Snow Day (aka calamity day)! Have a snow day from preschool isn’t quite the same, he had plenty of those. Now that he is in school 5 days a week, he really appreciates the snow days. Unfortunately, we’ve had 4 snow days so far and it is only December 17th! Yes, 4 snow days!

Last year Gov. Ted Strickland cut Ohio snow days from 5 per year to just 3. This was an attempt to get 1.8 million Ohio school kids more school time to reach the minimum of 182 days per school calendar year. Not realistic in Ohio with our heavy snow storms!

Come January, our Governor-elect Kasich has stated that “he’ll move to switch back to five calamity days, commonly called ”snow days,” after he takes office in January.” Yippee!  I’m not sure how long something like this could take, hopefully it will go into effect this school year so our kids are not making up snow days into the warm month of June.

For  now though, we are totally enjoying our snow days and fun outside! Even if it is just 1/2 hour here or there, it’s great to get your kids bundled up and outside playing. It’s not such a bad thing for moms either. It makes me feel like a kid again when I go play with my kids outside. No better medicine than that!

Playing in the Snow with Dora

Normally I don’t allow my kids to bring outside their stuffed toys but today, Elizabeth really wanted her Dora doll to come out and play. I guess it can’t really get dirty in all the clean, white snow! Lucky for Dora, Elizabeth shared a hat!

We’ve been having fun taking advantage of our backyard hills this winter. So cool that we don’t have to drive somewhere to sled ride!

Elizabeth is having fun here but what do you think about snow-face-covered Dora? lol

Snow Day Adventures

My son loves his snow days off. For some reason, he just likes to play in the snow, I mean really, IN the snow. Even as a younger kid, I’d find him laying face down in the snow! With him, we do a lot of imaginative play with super heroes and bad guys. It’s a stretch for me, I’d rather sled ride with them instead of fighting the bad guys so we do a little of each. Below he is hiding behind a pile of snow, with his hat off – of course!

Beware of the giant snow balls! Lucky for me, my kids are still young and cannot hit me with the snow balls unless I let them. lol For some reason, mommy and daddy are always great targets for snowballs. I love to hear them laugh when they get us! Of course, I love to hear them laugh anytime, it’s the best music in the world.

Check out Elijah’s gigantic snowball below! Oh yes, we have a LOT of snow!

We went to a sledding hill over the weekend with a few really big hills. I was surprised that my kids went down them right away with no fear. I rode down with Elizabeth and it was scary! Seriously. I shouldn’t have held her in my lap because I was holding TIGHTLY to her with one arm and onto the sled with the other. She kept yelling, “Hold on Tight!” while I was hoping not to drop her and praying not to run over anyone else as we were going down the hill backward! LOL

We went to a smaller hill after that. This hill just happened to have a snow ramp built. My daredevil son decided to run his sled over the ramp. Boy did he ever go OVER the ramp, high up into the air. He flipped up pretty high and landed right on his face! He was a brave little boy and didn’t cry. It left him with a pretty big scratch on his eye that he has sense use to impress everyone around him with his story. Didn’t have my camera there to snap a picture though. 🙁

Snowy Playground Fun

You’ve heard me talk about how much we love our Backyard Discovery playset all summer long. It’s really the best investment for kids fun, year-round. I’m so glad that we stained our playground earlier this fall because just LOOK at the SNOW we’ve had in Ohio this month! I’m glad we protected it just in time.

My kids think it’s great to uncover the playset from all the snow AND going down the slide is the best, pushing the snow out of the way as they go.

So, what do you do on your  Snow Days?

This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Backyard Discovery who supplied the product for review and the ongoing relationship with AkronOhioMoms.com. Check out the great selection of playsets from Backyard Discovery at www.swingsetsonline.com.

Cindy

Founder and Lead Blogger at Akron Ohio Moms

Cindy is the top Akron Blogger with her own take on awesome brands for families, where to vacation for families, a beat on local activities and family fun, a knack for getting moms to share , and a house that is always 2 weeks away from a complete remodel!