With break over, kids back in school

MOSES LAKE - The busses ran, the school bells rang, the playgrounds filled up, the kids ate breakfast and talked about their adventures during Christmas vacation. And before the bell rang, Park Orchard Elementary School second-grade teacher Brady Wiltbank passed a student in the hall, with a gap in her smile.

"I bet you asked for your two front teeth for Christmas," Mr. Wiltbank said. But the girl shook her head.

"Three front teeth," she said.

After two weeks of vacation school was back in session Monday. The very first thing the fourth-graders in Maura Moore's class did, after the bell rang, was talk about what they did during vacation.

It was sunny but cold when school started, but clouds started rolling in by midday, The forecast from the National Weather Service calls for rain, freezing rain or snow over the next five days.

With that in mind, kids playing outside or waiting for the bus should be wearing a hat and mittens - and it should be mittens, because they're warmer than gloves, according to the Centers for Disease Control website. Kids should have a water-resistant coat and boots, and it's a good idea to wear a scarf. The coat should be wind-resistant too, the website said.

It's good to wear several layers of loose clothing, the website said, which allows body heat to circulate. That way layers can be removed, and should be when the wearer gets warm, because perspiration increases heat loss, the website said.