How to dress your child for the outdoors

J got stuck in the snow. I walked out the door to the playground, pulling on my mittens against the cold and heard her howling. Of course she was at the furthest reaches of our snowy playground. And let me remind you that we had 3 snow days last week. That translates into drifts that are just a few feet short of the eves of the building and have made our fences into short decorations rather than actual blockades. It's been so cold we haven't had recess either and the children haven't made any tracks yet.

So here was J in the middle of that mess, most of her hidden down in a hole the older children had dug in the snow. I let her know I was coming, took a step and immediately sank up to my knee. Oops. Other than a path the elementary children had pounded by coming to borrow our sleds, the yard was still fluffy powder. I waded out to J, got the snow out of her boot and helped her back to more stable ground.

And she was just the first. I fished child after child out of the snow, stuck on countless boots and knocked snow out of at least five pairs of mittens. Luckily they were all so happy to be out playing in the snow that any tears were pretty short lived and no one seemed bothered by the cold. At least while we were outside, when we went in and took stuff off it was a different story.

So if you ever have a need to buy winter clothes for a child (especially a montessori one!) keep these things in mind-

1. That elastic band at the bottom of snowpants? Make sure they have it and that you child knows it goes OVER the boot, not inside it. I had quite a few children who were completely amazed when I explained that it had a purpose.

2. Mittens that go OVER their jacket. Hand wear that goes inside makes it impossible to finish the dressing process. I have trouble doing a zipper with mittens of gloves on my hand, and I've had over two decades of experience. Sorry but a three or four year old has no chance.

3. A hat that really goes OVER the ears, and those with ear flaps are even better. Your child's hat will fall off. They will need to put it on again. They will have gloves on. It will be difficult. Giving them that little extra bit to grab at will make it easier.

Hm....maybe I should make this into a note to send it home to parents. It would certainly help keep my own hands warmer at recess by not having to fix those mittens and snowpants over and over again...

Trust me kid, it's worth it!