The Garden School Tattler

Interesting day. We spent a lot of it creating play costumes and experiencing the cold. Kids fought with clothes and adjusting to cooler temperatures.

In the winter time, children need to wear two layers - a long sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt as a back up in case they are chilly. The sweatshirt can stay at school. Please put a name on the tag. Short sleeves are not appropriate for winter especially in the heat crunch. We understand that some kids are warm natured and can go out in 30 degrees with a light shirt, and some kids freeze at the same temperature with six layers on and electric socks, but short sleeves say something decadent about cranked up furnaces and corresponding cranked up bills.

My kids tend to be warm natured, so it was not a huge problem for me. I kept the temperature at 56 degrees when they were growing up, and not one of them ever got an ear infection or much of a cold. We have two heatless rooms still in our house, and when it's really cold there's ice on the floor. I suppose it was good training. When my son was at the North Pole, there were classes about how to dress to keep warm. It was 40 below zero. He was out in a short sleeved t shirt. He said that wasn't the worst cold he's ever felt. He said he stood watch once in the North Sea. They brought him soup which went from hot to cold in 36 inches.

Know your child and know what he can tolerate. Miss Molly and I have to go outside to cool off in the winter time while Miss Rachel and Miss Stacey and Mrs. St. Louis don our discarded sweaters, and every child comes somewhere in between. Be kind.

Please take shoes and socks into consideration as well. Those short socks that used to be called tennis socks are not appropriate now. The children's feet freeze without some layering. Hands, feet and head covered will add 10 degrees heat to a cold child. Children need gloves that fit - not necessarily gloves they like. Please buy those little tiny three inch model elastic knit jobs at the dollar store or Walmart or Target for $1.00. They are the best because they fit, they go on, they are cheap, and fun to wear. The really thick monster gloves used by North Pole trekkers are useless and hateful to the kids because they can't play in them. The glove becomes the enemy and the focus of all attention - mostly resentful attention.

Please teach children to put coats on themselves. It's their body and their coat, and if you can imagine what it's like to put 30 coats, 30 pair of mittens, 30 hats while trying to tie 30 pairs of shoes, you have an hour's project. Children should be able to put on their own coats. Teachers will zip, button and snap.

Play is coming up fast. It's really cute. Please remember that we start promptly at 3:00 and it's over ten minutes later. So plan to be AT school by 2:50.