Play redux

We woke up to snow this morning and preschool was delayed an hour, but there was no way we would miss out on playing in the snow. Now we live in Northeren Virginia, where people consider any snow an obstacle to driving, so we only had 10 in the class. But I'd notified parents ahead of time that my classroom (none of the others do this) goes outside in the snow and if children do not have boots, they stay in and ride bikes. My assistant stays in and I go out with the children. Well, no one wants their child to miss out, so each and every child had boots, hats, mittens, and one boy even had snowpants! It was very cold so we were only out 20 minutes, but what a 20 minutes! Examining snow, throwing it, sliding down an icy slide were all very cool activities, pardon the expression. One boy told his mother he went down the slide "faster than a JET!!!!"

I could have kept them in, like the other classes, saying, no-o-o. It's TOO COLD! We could have read The Snowy Day (which we will, of coures), but being in the snow, practicing balancing on icy patches, learning to play together in snow without hurting each other, were all invaluable learning experiences. No coddling here!

What is your snow outdoor play policy at your school?