I’m completely convinced that when the architects designed the building I’m in and decided where to put the playground they thought, where is the coldest possible place we  put it?  Why, on the north side of the building at the top of a hill with no wind break at all – of course!  Which is why the last two days of recess duty have called for the Beethoven Coat.

I have this mental image of Beethoven and his infamous oversized coat where he kept rocks to throw at children, or so the story goes.  Something big where he could layer and go all the way to the ground to keep his legs warm.  That would be my coat – only without the rocks.  There are varying degrees (pun intended) of coat wearing for recess and many things to consider when looking at the weather.

I actually hate wearing coats, which just makes so much sense when I live on the frigid wind-swept plains of Nebraska.  I remember studying the Great Plains in 3rd or 4th grade and thinking, what an empty, desolate place this must be.  (I obviously had a great vocabulary).  Anyway, as an adult, I now know it’s not desolate, but it does have its wide open spaces, hence no windbreak on the playground.  As I said there are several things to consider; actual temperature, whether it’s sunny or there’s cloud cover  and wind speed, with the latter being the trickiest part.  I can’t tell you how many time I’ve seen kids on the playground with just a long sleeved shirt, freezing because the weather report said 45 and sunny, completely failing to read the part about the wind blowing in from the NNW at 25-30 mph.

I have a nice little lightly lined jacket with a hood that works well to about 45-50  degrees.  Below that I have this great parka but it’t fairly short and doesn’t cover my legs. But when the temp gets to about 20 degrees or below, with or without windchill, out comes the Beethoven Coat.  All wool, all the way to the ground with the added layers, scarf, hat and gloves, I am ready for just about anything.

Today was one of those days, temperature in the 30’s, windchills in the lower 20s.  I was bundled up to the nth degree and I looked over at one of the boys who was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, then to a girl who is wearing shorts over some leggings with a short jacket.  I shiver just thinking about it.  Then I then look at the three other teachers, each of them with a big coats, hoods, hats, gloves and scarves.  At the end of recess, as the kids are running in and smiling, most of them unencumbered by many layers,  the four of us walk into the school with our windburned cheeks, pulling hats off of our hair now loaded with static, hands frozen despite the gloves.  It’s a lovely sight.

I think someone should invent those little houses for teachers to do recess, you know, like they have for soccer moms watching their kids on cold rainy days?  Maybe with a little space heater and a megaphone so we can yell things at the kids when they’re messing around?  For what I spent on the parka and the Beethoven Coat, it could actually be pretty nice.  But until that time, I will depend on the coat and the fact that it’s only 70 days until spring.  Unless you’re in Nebraska in which spring is only a word….