Seriously?

On the day before Christmas break, my 4th grader, I'll call him  D-Man, brought home a paper detailing a science assignment he needed to complete.  The assignment - to create a rock collection, neatly organized and labeled.  The rock collection must include at least four rocks in each of the three major rock categories. Oh, and they have to be rocks that the students dig up and find themselves.

Sounds like a pretty typical fourth grade science assignment, right?  Except for one thing - it's the middle of freaking winter!  There is a deep layer of ice and snow covering everything outside and most days are maxing out at around 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  Not exactly rock collecting weather!

So in typical me fashion, I kept putting off helping D-Man with his project, in hopes that the weather would warm up a bit and the snow will melt.  Well, that is not happening; today is the coldest day yet, and the assignment is due on Monday when he returns to school.

With a last minute sigh, I just forced my very reluctant husband out the door with our son, and a shovel, and the paper outlining the project.  They are heading up the canyons to try and find a rock collecting gold mine under the layers of snow, while I am sitting in my cozily warm home typing this.  I realize  how generous this sounds of me, but I do have a good excuse.  I am sick with the worst sore throat and laryngitis of my life (which is now turning into an annoying cough). Quite honestly, I would rather be healthy and outside digging up rocks right now than be feeling like this . . . maybe.  Then again, maybe not.  It is mighty cold out there. 

Seriously, fourth grade teachers?  We couldn't find a better time of year than JANUARY to launch a rock collecting assignment?    This could have been such a fun assignment that we could have used for some memorable family outings.  Not so fun when you can't see through the frost covering your eyeballs and you can't feel your fingers move.

Someone needs to put a bug in the teachers' ears before next year's fourth graders become unsuspecting victims of this cruel and unusual assignment.  Also, someone needs to remind me to get a flu vaccine next year . . .

OK. I'm done venting.  For the sake of my son I'll go back to pretending that extracting rocks from ice is a completely normal activity.

Seriously?