A Snow Day....but We Stayed at School!

I want you to take 10 seconds to think...

Think about the BEST day you have had in your teaching career.    What was that day like?  What made it the BEST day?  

I remember mine vividly.  It was February of 2005. 

It all started out as a regular day, but with a pretty steady snow falling.  It was one of those snowfalls that we don't get too often here in Nebraska.  There was no wind.  The snow was falling straight down.  It was gorgeous. 

The mild temperature that morning created snow that was the perfect texture to build a snowman.  

But it was a weekday so it was off to school. 

Mr. Brown, one of my colleagues and former teachers mentioned that it would be a great day to have a snow day.  Not a "snow day" where we went back home, but a day where we went outside with every single in grades 7-12 and have a snowman building contest! 

Excitedly, I agreed.    Begrudgingly, I went back to my classroom to prepare for the day thinking there was no way it would ever happen.   Little did I know that Mr. Brown slipped into Mr. Monter's (Principal)  office to discuss the possibility of a "snow day" happening.   

Soon, all students and staff members were summoned to the gym before the start of our first class period.  

Mr. Monter announced to the staff and student body that we would be running a late start schedule that day so that we could go outside to have a snowman building contest.  I smiled.  Kids looked at each other in bewilderment.  I thought to myself, "I am going to remember this day as one of the best in my teaching career."

Fast forward eleven years later to 2017, my eighteenth year of teaching.  I have several years left before I retire, but it's going to be hard to top that day.  It was magical.  No textbook or lesson could have replicated what we all experienced on that snow-covered football field in February.

What's your BEST day ever in your teaching career?  Leave me a comment.  I'd love to read about it.

Oh, you were wondering how the snowman building contest went?  How the students enjoyed the day?  I guess you'll have to watch the video below.  I am so glad Mrs. Coover's media class was able to capture the memory!  Thanks Peg!