What should my child do during a snow day or school closure?
What should my child do during a snow day or school closure?
Keep a loose routine: an hour or two of light learning in the morning, with reading, a little math and something hands-on, then plenty of play and rest. For a longer closure, follow whatever the school sends first and fill gaps with practice your child can do on their own. This page offers a simple day plan, ideas by subject and parent guides for Grades 1–4.
Get the at-home parent guidesOn a snow day, aim for a relaxed routine rather than a full school day. For children in Grades 1–4, plan 60 to 120 minutes of learning in short blocks: 20 minutes of reading, 15 minutes of math practice, a writing task and one hands-on activity like measuring snow or baking. During a longer closure, do the school's assignments first, keep the same wake-up time and add familiar practice only where there are gaps.
Ready-made material
Learning at Home Bundle, Grades 1–4
4 resources in one download: $79.99 instead of $119.96 bought separately.
The first cover is the main resource; the others are related options. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Learning at Home Bundle | Parent Guides & Workbooks for Reading, Math, English & Motivation | Grades 1–4
Grades 1–6 Literacy Skills Curriculum | Grammar, Writing, Phonics & Reading Packs for Every Grade
Elementary Math Practice & Warm-Up Bundle | 7 Practice Packs + Warm-Up Bundle | Grades 1–4
Elementary Science Curriculum | Life, Earth & Physical Science | 11 Units | Grades 3–5
Why it is hard
Why closure days get hard for families
A single snow day is easy: sledding, hot chocolate and a movie. The trouble starts when closures stretch to three days, a week or longer. Without the school routine, many young children sleep late, graze on screens and get restless by midafternoon, and parents who are also trying to work from home feel pulled in two directions. Some families respond by recreating a full school day at the kitchen table. That rarely lasts. A seven-year-old will not sit through six hours of worksheets, and the arguments spoil the time together. Others drop learning altogether, then notice when school reopens that reading fluency slipped and math facts got rusty. Schools differ a lot in what they send home. One sends a packet, another posts online assignments, a third sends nothing for the first few days. Parents are often unsure how much is enough or whether extra work will clash with what the teacher plans. Children with siblings at different grade levels make it more complicated, because one plan does not fit a first grader and a fourth grader at once. What works is a light, predictable shape for the day that a parent can run without a teaching background.
What works
Ideas that keep learning going at home
Mix and match from these. Each works for Grades 1–4 with little preparation.
- Read aloud together for 15 minutes, then have your child read to a sibling or stuffed animal.
- Measure snow depth in several spots, write the numbers down and compare them on a simple chart.
- Bake something together and let your child read the recipe and measure every ingredient.
- Write a letter or postcard to a grandparent describing the snow day in five sentences.
- Practice math facts with a deck of cards: flip two and add or multiply them.
- Watch the weather from the window and keep a short daily weather journal with drawings.
Step by step
A simple day plan for a closure
Use this as a starting shape and adjust the times to your family's day. Younger children need shorter blocks and more movement in between.
- Start the day as usualKeep the normal wake-up time, get dressed and eat breakfast. A familiar start makes the rest of the morning easier and helps the return to school go smoothly.
- Check for school assignmentsLook at email, the school app or the class page. If the teacher posted work, do that first and keep it to the time suggested before adding anything of your own.
- Reading and writing blockSpend about 20 minutes reading and 10 to 15 minutes writing: a journal entry, a short story about the snow or a letter. Let your child choose the book.
- Math and hands-on blockDo 15 minutes of fact practice or a short worksheet, then a hands-on activity like baking, measuring or building a snow fort and drawing its plan.
- Free afternoon and a short reviewLeave the afternoon for play, outdoor time and rest. Before dinner, ask your child to tell you one thing they learned or made today, and write it on the calendar.
Ready-made option
Guides to keep on hand for closures
The Learning at Home Bundle ($79.99, parts bought separately $119.96) names school closures among the situations it suits. It contains four parent guides with workbooks: Learn to Read at Home for Grades 1–2, No More School Struggles for motivation in Grade 2, Math Made Easy for Grade 3 and English Made Easy for Grade 4. Families with a third, fourth or fifth grader who likes hands-on work might prefer the Elementary Science Curriculum ($109.99), which includes units on weather and the water cycle. For quick math pages, there is the Elementary Math Practice & Warm-Up Bundle ($34.99).
Honest limits
Keep expectations realistic
The guides give you a plan and practice pages, not the teacher's next lesson. During a long closure, your school's assignments come first, and the guides fill gaps. If you use them for homeschooling later, compare them with your state's standards and check your state's homeschool rules. Families paying through an ESA or scholarship should check that program's rules and vendor list before buying. The licence covers your own household. You can exchange the bundle within 7 days for store credit of equal value, but cash refunds are not offered.
Good to know
More teacher questions
How much schoolwork is enough on a snow day?
For one or two snow days, very little is needed: reading, some talk about numbers and plenty of play. For a longer closure, one to two hours a day of focused work is a reasonable goal for Grades 1–4. Follow the school's guidance if they set an amount. Rest and play count for a lot, too.
Should I add my own work if the school sent assignments?
Do the school's work first. Add more only if your child finishes quickly or the assignment is very short. Keep extras to review and practice rather than new topics, so nothing conflicts with what the teacher plans to teach after the closure. A note to the teacher about what you did helps.
How do I handle children in different grades at once?
Do some things together, such as reading aloud, baking and outdoor science, then give each child their own short task at their level. Older siblings can read to younger ones, which counts as practice for both. Stagger the independent work so you can help one at a time.
Do these guides match my state's standards for my child's grade?
No alignment with any state's standards is claimed for these guides. During a closure your school's assignments carry the standards it expects. If you use the guides for homeschooling, compare them with your state's grade-level standards and confirm current homeschool requirements with the state. The teacher can say which skills matter most right now.
Is screen time okay during a closure?
Some is fine, especially for families juggling work. Set clear windows, for example after the learning block and after outdoor time, and favor shows or games with something to talk about afterward. Keep screens out of the morning so the learning block happens first. Read-along audiobooks are a good middle ground.
How do I keep my own work going while my child is home?
Plan the day around your busiest hours. Give your child an independent task during calls, such as reading, drawing or a workbook page, and save the activities that need you for your breaks. A visible schedule on the fridge helps children know what comes next without asking.
A calm plan for the next closure
Keep the routine light, put school assignments first and let snow, baking and books do the rest.
Get the at-home parent guides