Teachers not taking kids outside daily because it is too cold - Page 5

[jgrteach]

I live in Ca where it's not really that cold (but we'll never admit it ). I teach, and as long as it's not raining, the students go out. At least for a little bit. My students have severe disabilities and many are in wheelchairs and have very little mobility. I take this into consideration. They can't warm up in the cold like we can. I might limit their time outside, but they need to get out for at least a little bit.

I think as long as kids are bundled up enough, then it should be fine. With typically developing kids, they can let teachers know if they're too cold.

[Yippy!]

thanx, I haven't read that study yet!

[beanma]

Originally Posted by mommyoftwo

I am sooo hoping for even a dusting this year so we can make little snowmen. We have a picture of our teensy snowman and snowdog from last year. Maybe we'll at least see some snow when we drive up north next week.

We made a calendar of the kids this year as gifts and our January picture has E with a little teensy 12inch snowman we made with a baby carrot nose. Pretty cute and funny, too. It would be nice to have a bit more than that, but I don't know if I need the 13 inches we got when B was a toddler.

Originally Posted by mommyoftwo

Anyway, who would have thought that a thread about the weather would get so long and heated!

Indeedy do! Maybe see what the other classes do and just mention that your dd would love to go outside more even if it's cold. Maybe teacher thinks she's being nice keeping them in.

Have fun traveling. We're mostly staying put. Gonna do a day trip and a quick overnight. Dh is on-call for your b-day!

[s_kristina]

Reality check to the northern contributors here. Before walking to get dd from school this afternoon I checked to see what the temp was outside. It was 68 so I was debating if ds and I needed jackets. I opened the door then turned around to get our jackets on. When we got to school all the kindergarten kids were coming out to where they sit waiting for parents with their jackets on. However it's supposed to be close to 80 in 2 days. Does attempting to make your body "used to" cold weather really work when 2 days later it's going to be around 80???

[JesseMomme]

I think one important factor I found with living down south as compared to the north was the humidity. It always seemed like it was humid where I was (coastal NC) and when it got down to 20-30, which as a northerner to me that's "not bad" I could not shake off that pervasive bone chilling cold.:

And of course the summers about killed me

On the flip side we'd be out running around in shorts when it was in the 50's/60's and people would look at us like we were nuts

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by s_kristina

Reality check to the northern contributors here. Before walking to get dd from school this afternoon I checked to see what the temp was outside. It was 68 so I was debating if ds and I needed jackets. I opened the door then turned around to get our jackets on. When we got to school all the kindergarten kids were coming out to where they sit waiting for parents with their jackets on. However it's supposed to be close to 80 in 2 days. Does attempting to make your body "used to" cold weather really work when 2 days later it's going to be around 80???

I would say a hoodie would be fine for 68. You can always take it off.

[wifeandmom]

Originally Posted by UUMom

I think the whole situation of so many drugged kids not getting physical activity during an entire school day *is* pretty dramatic.

What's our child Ritalin rate? What is our childhood Diabetes rate? Oh, I don't know...say compared to some other cold place...like Norway? Where all the children are beautiful and above average. And tall. :

Alrighty then.

Now 20 minutes of recess a day is going to give us all 'beautiful' and 'above average' children that are tall.

Who knew. You really should fight for legislation requiring this 20 minutes of fresh air every day if that's all it takes to create beautiful, above average, tall children.

What the heck is wrong with SHORT children, by the way?

Or less than beautiful children?

Or children of average intelligence?

[aprildawn]

Originally Posted by wifeandmom

Alrighty then.

Now 20 minutes of recess a day is going to give us all 'beautiful' and 'above average' children that are tall.

Who knew. You really should fight for legislation requiring this 20 minutes of fresh air every day if that's all it takes to create beautiful, above average, tall children.

What the heck is wrong with SHORT children, by the way?

Or less than beautiful children?

Or children of average intelligence?

It's a Garrison Keillor reference. Lake Wobegon. google it and you'll see what she was talking about.

[s_kristina]

Originally Posted by UUMom

I would say a hoodie would be fine for 68. You can always take it off.

Maybe it would be to you, but does that mean it would be to those who live in where it's rarely cold? Also what about the 50 for a high one day and 80 2-3 days later? You said your body needs to get used to cold, but there isn't much point to getting used to cold in weather like that.

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by s_kristina

Maybe it would be to you, but does that mean it would be to those who live in where it's rarely cold? Also what about the 50 for a high one day and 80 2-3 days later? You said your body needs to get used to cold, but there isn't much point to getting used to cold in weather like that.

So, you know, stay inside for 355 days of the year.

[s_kristina]

Maybe I should be clear. My kids go outside pretty much every day unless it's raining in which case our yard becomes a pond. I certainly don't think being outside is going to hurt these kids if they are dressed for the weather. However I'm also not going to force kids to go outside in temps that will make them miserable. Living at different latitudes gives people different ideas of what makes for miserable weather. My kids were playing outside in 100 weather over the summer. They just bounced in and out of the wading pool we have and had a blast. We also stay inside from 10-11 until 2-3 depending on exactly what part of the year it is. It's too big of a risk of sunburn for them to be out much during those hours. Other then that they would be happy to live outside most of the time. However they would not think that the same temps are shorts weather that many of you do. I also have to say we live about 5 miles from the Atlantic so we don't get as hot as some inland places do. We are also lucky enough to generally have a sea breeze kick up around 3-4pm cooling things off in the afternoon.

[BiscuitBaby]

I was getting irritated with DD's teachers because the kids were not going outside for recess every day. It was cold and windy, but they were talking them out every 3 days. By the time I picked her up after school, it could be 75-80 degrees or raining. Weird weather.

They would let them run around the track a couple times and then have them come in. If they didn't go outside at all, they went to the motor lab and jumped on the trampoline or played in the ball pit.

DD does not like to wear pants, only skirts or dresses, but I put tights on her and she has a jacket and gloves. We are in Austin.

[loraxc]

One of the things I love about DD's school is that they go outside every day, period, twice a day, unless it's pouring. I live in the deep South, btw.

However, I now feel a bit guilty because I will send DD to school on coldish days (like 50) without a winter coat and with a light fleece instead. She's a furnace. She won't wear the winter coat unless it's cold as heck (and she was born and bred here). She also won't wear gloves or a hat, so I don't bother. Hope the teachers don't think we're neglecting her.

[Kittymom]

In theory, I very much want to bring my son outside everyday and teach him to enjoy outdoor play in all weather. I really, really want to want to go outside with him. But, I grew up in Miami where under 50 was super rare, and I just hate the cold. He is growing up in the north, and he should be learning to enjoy it.

Instead, he complains that he is too cold and wants to go in, and I can't encourage him to stay out because I am so miserable every second I am out in the cold. I think he is picking up on that, no matter how I try to hide it.

How we dress only matters so much. The cold seems to soak in no matter what. Plus, some skin is always exposed and we have to breathe cold air. Just thinking about it...:

But, I do want to change this, for both of us.

I've also noticed that my joints get super stiff in the cold, so it hurts to move around. That makes it hard to encourage fun activity, too.

I suppose the only advice anyone could give would be to dress for the cold, which I try to do, or to tough it out, which I keep failing to do.

Plus, all that clothes is so bulky!

So, it just boggles my imnd that so many people expect recess to happen year round. I just assumed it didn't happen anywhere in cold weather! Talk about culturally biased assumptions.

[meowee]

I would have greatly appreciated being allowed to stay inside on cold winter days at my elementary schools. Our cut off was 10F, regardless of wind chill. It was torture.

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by s_kristina

Our high tomorrow is supposed to be around 60. My dd was having a talk with me this afternoon about needing to wear her jacket when she goes to lunch and specials. All the classrooms have exterior exits there are no hallways at her school. I can't imagine not wearing a jacket when it's 60 out I'd be : My 2 year old ds has a habit of opening the front door if it's not dead bolted. My dd was telling me I needed to get him quick this evening because he was headed to the door and would get out. I knew it was between 50-60 outside and he would slam the door shut the moment he opened it. His pronouncement on the weather was a scrunched up face and "cold, WEIRD!" On the other hand they both think I'm a horribly evil mom if I try to keep them inside when it's 100 out. It's really what your used to.

When I lived on the coast of Oregon 60F was shorts and tank top weather.......it's what I set my thermostat at during the day in the winter time. At night we turn it off completely.

[WC_hapamama]

Originally Posted by s_kristina

I know where we lived in LA many schools didn't have recess when the weather was cold because so many people across the parish could not afford a warm jacket for their children. Knowing how poor most of the south is I'm inclined to think it would be similar throughout much of the south. I know of charities that just work on getting warm clothing for kids in the north, but don't know of any down here.

I grew up in Southern California. I didn't own a heavy jacket until I moved to the Bay Area, because it didn't get cold enough frequently enough to need one. On those rare cold days, it was easier to just layer up.

At my kids school, the only time the kids don't have recess is when it's pouring rain, extremely windy (to the point of flying debris) or the air quality is terrible.

[UUMom]

I lived in So CA for several years, and honestly, sometimes sweatshirts were overkill. At least once the clouds burned off.

[lah7]

I found this quite amusing.

My child's school goes outside unless it's colder than -23C (um, something like -18F, I think). Being from Ohio, I about died when I heard that news. But she's perfectly content. I just have to remember to send her with her snowpants. And her parka. And her balaklava. And gloves. The school makes it clear, as a part of their handbook, that kids are to be dressed for the weather, because they WILL be going out. I do think they have a bin of extra gloves/hats for forgetful kiddos.

Sometimes, I wonder if the effort of getting 20+ kindergarteners dressed in all that stuff to send them outside for 15 minutes is really worth it!

It really is all about acclimatization. I surprise myself when I run to the garage in -10F in a pair of Crocs and pajama pants, but my kids are the same ones sweltering and ready to die when we visit family in Austin and Honolulu!

[siobhang]

this is a hilarious thread.

I grew up in Greenwich, CT, where the bus would pick up at 7 and drop us off at 7:30 or so but school didn't start until 8, and they would not let us inside until 7:50. So we had to stand around waiting for the bus (minimum of 10 minutes) plus 20 minutes of standing around in the snow outside school every freakin' morning in the winter. I remember being excited one day when it warmed up to 40 degrees.

Then we moved to Los Angeles, where in January during the rainy season, kids would come to school in ski parkas when the temp went below 60.

A few years later, my parents moved to Ireland, where the temperature never got below 45 but never got above 60. and the high humidity caused a bone chilling damp that meant you never got warm, even with two hot showers and layers of wool. No wonder people drink.

THEN a few years later, I lived in Senegal, West Africa. The temperature ONCE went down below 60 in the middle of the night, and everyone complained bitterly about the cold.

And I visited friends in Ithaca, NY, where temperatures never get above 30 in the winter, and you don't lock your cars in the winter for fear that the key will break due to the cold.

Oh, and once I visiting Mali, West Africa, while there were ice storms in NYC (temperatures below 20 degrees daily). My driver, when I remarked on the cold back home, said "oh, is it as cold there as here [in Bamako]? It is very cold here right now." It was 85 degrees in Bamako. He was serious. Other than in drinks, he had never seen ice.

I now live in DC, where the official snow policy seems to be "it doesn't snow here, we are in the south".

Oh, true story, years ago I was involved in cultural exchanges between Russian civil service employees and American counterparts, with the aim of "improving" the Russian civil services after years of Soviet rule, blah blah.

The folks from the St. Petersburg transport office (which of course includes the Snow Removal team) visited the DC snow removal office. The officials from Russia were flabbergasted at what they learned - "you have HOW many roads and HOW many snow plows? With such a horrible response rate? With HOW much average snow a year? - and WE are meant to learn from YOU??? A bunch of amateurs you are!!!"

Mind you, this was the year that the federal government had to call out the national guard to plow the streets of DC because the local government had failed to pay any of the private contractors for past snow removal, and for over a week, none of the secondary roads were plowed after a major snowstorm which shut down the east coast.

But hell, in DC, we get an inch of snow, and they cancel school...

Never mind me, I think weather-sizing is hilarious. ; )