SOLSC #23 - Shoveling in a Blizzard

To read my students' posts on the
Classroom SOL challenge click here

 

Introduction: Hello and welcome to my blog! This is the third year I have participated in the SOLSC and also the third year for my students as well! I teach students, ages 11-14, in a multi-age classroom at The Logan School for Creative Learning in Denver, CO. This year, I am hosting students from all three middle school classes and they are participating on a volunteer basis (with a few prizes thrown in for inspiration). I'm looking forward to being part of this amazing community again!

Shoveling in a Blizzard


It was 75 degrees yesterday and I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt until dark. But "March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb" is backwards in Colorado most years. We tend to have sunny warm days as March begins and just as the first crocuses are wilting, the daffodils and tulips are blooming, and the leaves start to bud, a storm drops inches of heavy snow (and a few tree limbs too).

At 5:30 this morning I woke up to a phone call telling me that school was cancelled. I looked outside and saw that it was indeed snowing but the driveway and sidewalks were clear and there was maybe an inch on the grass. Then the wind picked up and the snow started falling like confetti.

Three hours later, I was shoveling eight inches of snow off the driveway and sidewalks! The bottom inch was heavy slush and it was like trying to lift water with each scoop. The wind buffeted me from all sides, making me squint against the flakes piling against me vertically.

After finally clearing the driveway, I looked at the freshly cleared sidewalk and there was already an inch of snow covering my hard work. Peering outside an hour later, several more inches are piled up and I'll have to shovel at least one more time today.

Outside again, the flakes pile up behind each pass of the shovel. I am reminded of a page from the Dr. Suess book Did I ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?

But I happily shovel the snow for free!