Snow and the treadmill of the holiday season

Today was the first real snow of the season up here in Massachusetts. I've decided that snow makes people crazy, whether it is waiting for the car to heat up/defreeze or children acting like they have never seen snow before. Every few minutes today it was like, "It's snowing!" My response: "Yes!!!! It is winter and we live in Massachusetts…now let's move on." It's extremely distracting and it doesn't help that I am missing blinds in my room so can't even cover up the windows. 

However, it is also inspiring. My students are starting a writing project called "If I was stuck in a snow globe." They are so excited about it! They are going to write a first person narrative in which they describe how they got into the snow globe and how they are to escape, and everything in between. Using figurative language, they are going to try to make me want to read more! Some of my students even spent some of their indoor recess brainstorming and starting their rough drafts. It's good to see them so excited about school!

In other news, I feel like this November and December has been like a treadmill. When one thing finishes, another thing begins. First it was my observation, then it was conferences, then a bunch of assessments, then report cards, and meanwhile there are birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I feel like I have not even been able to start thinking about Christmas and the holiday season because I can't keep up. However, I did do my Christmas shopping online (even though two of my packages went missing and I spent too much money). I have incorporated listening to Christmas music while I do my daily lesson planning. 

There is so much to do in the next week and a half. However, next week students are not going to be focused on school because they'll be thinking about winter break. 

It's a crazy time of the year, but I'm trying to incorporate activities into my day that are not related to school: reading, watching a tv show, blogging, and this weekend I'm going snowboarding!