Oh Tennessee. For what seems like the 20th time this school year (although it's probably really only more like the 5th) we just received a phone call saying that due to the forecast winter weather, school is cancelled for tomorrow. On every occasion this has happened in the past, there has simply been no weather to speak of at all. No ice, no snow, no NOTHING!!! They cancelled in January because it was a wee bit cold and they didn't want our poor little dears getting a chill whilst waiting for the bus. C'mon people. I've lived in both North and South Dakota. They have snow several times throughout the winter, cold temps, the whole shebang. School doesn't close unless there is 6 feet of snow and the buses simply cannot get through the roads. I'm quite happy to have my kiddos home for the day and I'm lucky that I stay home so it's not an issue (although it does interfere somewhat with my workouts ;) ) But what about all the working parents who have to scramble to get daycare sorted out for what usually turns out to be a non weather event? Apparently there are some parents out there who would send their children out to the bus stop in t shirts and shorts in wintry weather, so this is one of the reasons that the school district freaks out and closes school at the slightest chance of inclement weather. But why should the rest of us be penalized for this minority?
I could get started on the other issues I've had with the school here. Weekly, they send home information sheets advising us ignorant parents to feed our children healthy foods, lovely wee photos of the food pyramid and basically patronizing us with things that we already know. So why in the heck do they think it's okay to reward the children in school with things like hard candy and lollipops when they do well? I'm not a perfect parent, I do have chocolate in the house but I don't ever buy hard candy. My middle child was given a piece of hard candy in his class for doing well - unbeknownst to his teacher, his baby teeth have decalcification so they are very soft and prone to decay. He has already had a lot of dental work just on his baby teeth because of this. Anyway, said piece of hard candy (which I would never have given him at home) took off one of his crowns and resulted in a lot of time off school to repair the damage, not to mention the cost. Is this normal in schools? Or is it just a TN thing? They also give out gift cards to places like Zaxby's, Chuy's & McDonalds for good behaviour and if your kid gets an A on their report card, they get a Krispy Kreme Donut for each A. I looked hard but I didn't see Krispy Kreme anywhere on the Food Pyramid.
Anyway, time to go play with the kiddos. There's no rush to get them bathed and into bed early for school tomorrow. I will, however, probably be mean Mummy and get them up early-ish to go to the gym with me if the daycare is open. The gym is taking a sensible approach with a "wait and see" policy with the weather. Thank you Gold's Gym!! If the weather isn't crazy (and chances are, it won't be), the daycare will be open and the kiddos will have fun while I work out.
Have a good Sunday evening y'all!
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