Ice, again!!!

Icemageddon has started.  As I warm my toes by the fire, I can already hear the sounds of the ice and sleet hitting the windows.  Even after hearing the weather predictions for days, still all I can think is, "Not this again!"

Normal people with normal jobs look forward to the ice storms that shut down their offices and give them the chance to "work from home." Being a teacher, however, is not a normal job.  Today was again spent in silence as we took the Reading benchmark, so I was able to sneak in a few minutes of personal reading time as well as grade a few papers.  Preparations for Friday's field trip, however, were never far from my mind.  The list of things that still needed to be accomplished seemed to grow instead of shrink.  Every moment of planning and lunch was spent finalizing the latest contingency plan (I think we are somewhere in the Plan K range at this point), drafting and emailing letters to parents, and collecting medications from the nurse. After school, our team quickly filled water bottles, packed lunch bags, gathered pencils, water, snacks, and any other supplies we might need at 6:00 am on Friday morning.  (Yes, you read that correctly!) We worked like the most well oiled streamlined machine ever built, and by 4:00 pm, we were all ready to walk out of the school doors.

I have to say, however, that we would still be up there working if it had not been for a very dedicated student teacher.  She worked tirelessly for us folding shirts, sorting name tags, writing names on lunch bags and water bottles, and organizing all of the groups.  She was even there beside us this afternoon helping us sprint across the finish line.  I have the best team ever assembled.

So, now we wait and listen to the sounds of winter even though it's already spring.  I guess someone forgot to tell Mother Nature, but she better get it together quickly.  One more day of indoor recess may push some teachers over the edge!  Tonight's Twitter feed will no doubt provide hours of entertainment as the high school students beg the school to close.  Luckily, I am warm in my house with a good book by my side.  The field trip preparations are done and IF school is cancelled, I, too, can "work from home." Maybe, though, I'll just curl up with a book and enjoy the day with my kids!