We’re snowed in over here. Even after digging our car out of snowdrifts up to the windows, there’s a giant pile of snow at the bottom of our driveway that the snowplows kindly left for us. Much of our school day today was spent in “gym class”—in other words, shoveling. K worked for an especially long time; she was quick to point out that she expected to be excused from our family workouts for the rest of the week.
We gathered by the fireplace, hot chocolate in hand, to read Beaumont’s Beauty and the Beast from 1756. The kids acknowledged that the original story is far closer to the myth of Psyche and Eros than any of the other versions they’re familiar with.
I sat down with R for her first fashion design class on Outschool. Today’s lesson was about necklines and how to sketch them on a croquis form. R was completely absorbed in it and in the follow-up assignment, which was to search our closets for examples of as many different necklines as possible. She found nine and photographed them to post to her class chat board.
I also dragged myself away from my computer and opened up an escape-room-in-a-box that’s been on our shelf for a year. The kids have never been keen to do these with me, so I decided to stop making it a family activity and just do the puzzles by myself. N came over while I was doing the first puzzle—a number puzzle requiring algebra—and insisted on working it out by himself… so I got some kid participation. Maybe next time I should work on the puzzles with a bowl of Skittles next to me, and when the kids ask if they can have some I’ll just say, “These are my thinking Skittles. If you want to work on the puzzles, you can have some while you think.”
I’m sleepy. Last night around 10:30, Mr. December looked over at me (we were both reading in bed) and asked, “Ready to go to sleep now? Or would you rather read for another two hours?” He knows me so well. I turned out the light at midnight, which is two hours later than I should have. My goal for tonight is to only read until eleven.
sweet & crunchy 
What are you reading?
Great that the kids pitched in so well at snow removal. I remember when I lived in snow country….. not fun to clear the driveway entrance where the snowplows left a wall. I did learn to totally part close to the exit….. not way back on a long long driveway. But of course then when it was really really really cold the battery would not work so having a car as a sculpture was it’s own issue.
Just sitting ‘thinking’ is maybe not quite enough for the skittle reward thing…. perhaps ‘working to solve the problem’ is the criteria? Otherwise the skittles could totally disappear with no sign of productive thought processes……. Or perhaps their company while they eat the skittle is enough. I am not present so I don’t know.
Cheers. Enjoy the quality of sound when there is snow…. it is quite specific and lovely.