Kids, parents ditch at-home learning for a sled and a snowy hill
Feb 22, 2023, 6:30 PM | Updated: 6:35 pm
SUGARHOUSE, Utah — In Salt Lake City, the inches of snow were fewer than they were in the mountains or some other parts of the valley – but they still certainly had their impact. Some whose days were turned on their heads made the best of it.
Many parents and students awoke to emails and texts saying in-person learning was canceled and students were expected to learn remotely, from home. As you might imagine, some kids played hooky.
Canceled classes mean many parents had to stay home with the kids.
“It’s the worst news a full-time working mother can get,” Lisa Affleck said with a laugh. She has two school-aged children. “It’s rough news, Wednesday happens to be our trickiest day. We have staggered schedules most of the days but Wednesday’s we both work.”
At Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City, kids and parents took advantage of the at-home learning day the way it used to be. With snow pants and sleds, kids got, shall we say, physics lessons about, vectors and the coefficient of friction.
While some students are at home with remote learning, @matt_gephardt is out with kids that are learning what @DanSpindleKSL calls "Earth Science." pic.twitter.com/RneVGjvIIg
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) February 22, 2023
Dave Coyne was out sledding with his kids. “It was kinda rewarding to see that school was cancelled this morning,” he said.
Joshua Lenart, who loaded up his truck to haul over neighborhood kids so their parents could work, remarked that the kids are learning more out sledding than they would be at home – but also acknowledged his kids weren’t off the hook for their school work.
“There’s a packet of papers to go home to at some point, but we’ll get to that later in the day,” he laughed.
KSL-TV asked dozens of kids if they prefer at-home learning or sledding. The shocking of the informal survey found not one would rather be dialed into a zoom meeting or have their noses buried in a book.
With the winter warning coming to a close, it seems likely many of the hundreds of kids we saw today will find themselves back in their classroom chairs come tomorrow.
