It’s wintertime – - in the northeast United States.  That means snow, ice, wind and snowdays.

Remember being a kid and watching through the window hoping, praying (and maybe even offering your intentions to be a PERFECT child) for a snowday.  A sleep in late day. A watch TV and eat junk food all day kind of day.

Kids still do that.

Unless they’re homeschooled.

Apparently another downfall of homeschooling is depriving my child of a snowday.

Yep, you read that right DEPRIVING her of a day to play hookey – to say “HOORAY, I don’t have to go learn anything” – just because of some accumulating snow.

DEPRIVATION – yep, that’s the word a certain relative (who thinks that homeschooling is not quite normal) thinks about not having a snowday.

Last I checked (five minutes before I started writing this) – I didn’t see any of the neighborhood children out whooping it up in the snow.  No squeals of joy, no sleds or snowballs – SURELY no one with a shovel offering to clear my walk for $5 or $10.  Nope – they’re all inside in front of  television or X-Box or WII.  So what IS the point of the snowday?????

On the other hand, DD had her lessons today – just like any other normal day:  breakfast, room clean, dressed and cleaned up for lessons at 9am.   (I’m such a task master!).  And, although she won’t be outside whooping it up in the snow either, there’s one GREAT thing about NOT having a snowday:   she can have a “just because” day or a “because it’s 60 degrees in January” day.

The beauty of homeschooling is that the state requirement for hours taught (note, not LEARNED!!!) isn’t limited to Monday through Friday not including holidays, vacation weeks, teacher enrichment days, snowdays or lockdowns – -(wait, does a lockdown day count as a day taught?).  We can get those lessons in on the weekend, or in the evening, or when the “other” kids are in front of the XBox or WII during a snowday.

So if you see us outside on a Tuesday in January when it’s 60 degrees – it’s because I DEPRIVED my child of a snowday in December!