Snow is not a novelty here in Vermont. Life here on our farm goes on regardless of the amount of snow that falls over night. Snow drifts, snow shovels, and snow shoes fill our door yard. The animals at the barn expect their hay on time-they do not accept a delayed chore time or a declared “snow day” due to weather conditions. We find the sheep seem to enjoy the added warmth of their snow blankets the morning after a storm. They do not care that we have to shovel our way to the barn to tend to them.

As home schoolers, our children quickly discovered that there are no “snow days” for them either. Just because the school bus does not zip by the house in the morning due to weather conditions, does not mean that our school will be canceled. As home schoolers we hold classes in rain, sleet, snow, hail, floods, and just about any weather condition. In fact, the current weather condition sometimes becomes the topic of research for the day. My son has been monitoring the clouds for the past two weeks, recording his information on a chart along with the vital statistics for the day.Our oldest daughter who is in her freshman year of college emailed rather excited yesterday. She was experiencing her FIRST snow day ever. The college had canceled classes for the day for the first time in 25 years. She just had to tease her two siblings whom she knew would have their school books open despite the snow storm.