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!

Daddy help! (but really, don't)

D came in to school with his twin brother and dad this morning, same as just about every other day (sometimes mom drops them off). I said good morning and reminded them to take off their boots at the door, a habit we're trying to develop before the snow flies and creates a terrible mess of puddles in our school. D sat on the bench without uttering a single complaint and began swinging his feet and kicking at one boot with the other foot.

"It might be easier if you sit on the rug, just like after recess, remember?" I asked him. "Yeah, rug!" he exclaimed, sliding off the bench and settling himself on the floor. Meanwhile his brother A sat on the bench, looking a little less motivated to come in and dad stood in the doorway watching. D pushed at his boot from the ankle, mainly just squishing it down rather than pushing it off.

"Can you push on the rubber part D?" I cued him, pointing to the harder part of his boots so he could slide it off his heel. His twin hadn't yet made any effort with his boots dad began prompting him to try too. Hearing this D looked up and began whimper, "Too hard daddy!" Dad said basically the same thing I had, about which part of the boot to push on. D made a pretend effort, moving his hand back up to the soft part of the boot and pushing again. "Daddy help!" he cried, hiccuping a little bit. Daddy knelt down, showing him were to push again and giving the boot a nudge so it slid off D's heel. D kept up his whimpering until dad helped him with the second boot too.

Not bad acting for a three year old huh? And I know it was an act because here's what happened later today at lunch.

D finished pretty early and was carrying his lunch box into the coat room to put it away and get dressed just as I left it. In less than 5 minutes he came out to the rug to get his boots, fully dressed in his snow pants and jacket with mittens in hand. I took the first group of children outside and 5 minutes after that D came waddling outside, bundled up for the cold with boots and mittens fastened securely.

10 minutes total. 10 minutes for a three year to get all his winter outdoor gear on, including those boots that had given him so much trouble in the morning. Oh, and that 10 minutes includes waiting for a teacher to fasten his mittens over his sleeves, something that even our kindergarten students have trouble mastering (and actually I as an adult sometimes struggle with!)

Oh, and when we went back inside after recess? It took him maybe 2 minutes tops to get those boots off. And I didn't hear a single whimper after reminding him that it was easier to sit down on the rug instead of the bench.

So yes daddy, help....but not with those boots.