Outside winter life!

Today I dropped the kids off with their cross-country skis and skates at school.  They are having The Valla School Winter Games and are spending most of the day outside.  It was -13C (9 Fahrenheit) this morning, which meant that the cold limit of -15C (5 F) had not been reached and the games were still on!

Outside Porter's classroom this morning

I love the fact that the kids are outside and get fresh air every day for recess. The last 3 weeks - and 3 more to come - they are also having outside gym class. The kids are now also encouraged to collect points at school or on their spare time by doing different kinds of winter sports.  It is an eight week challenge which will be awarded with different prizes for individuals and classes at the end.  Maybe something for some American schools to take after....???  Hint, hint!

This weekend is the official opening of the ice roads on our lake Storsjön, even though people have been out there for a few weeks now, skating, skiing, kite surfing on skis and skates or just being out on the ice walking.  This is an amazing time for us in the north of Sweden and many of us living here claim that it's the most beautiful time of the year - a "fifth season" that doesn't exist in most places on earth...  the "Spring-Winter" when the temperatures get milder and we can truly enjoy all kinds of winter activities.