"A..climate?" No, Acclimate. "Oh that's confusing."

This is one lesson I seem to have to teach every year.

Living in New England means the weather can change hour to hour. This year for example is an uncommonly warm winter, no one is complaining. But true cynical New Englanders are anxiously awaiting the snowfall that will be predicted at 2-5 inches and end up being 25 or vice versa.

When the weather changes, even slightly, the North Face jackets come out.

The problem: the students wear their jackets all day long. Now some schools have rules against jackets in the classroom, in fact, I remember not being able to wear a jacket during the day but that does not apply here.

When we head outside for recess or any other reason we can find to enjoy the outdoors during the day, students who wear their jackets all day long complain that they are cold. The same students will complain in the classroom that they are too warm.

My response for both cases: Don’t wear your jacket all day long.

“Today’s life lesson,” the conversation will begin “becoming acclimated to temperature.”

When you wear your jacket all day long your body will become used to being that temperature. Going outside, which is usually colder than it is inside, will mean that your body will want to warm up, but what to do you are already wearing your jacket? Try not wearing your jacket all day long so when you are outside you can use your jacket for its purpose: keeping your warm against the elements outside.

“But, Miss, I love my jacket; it’s like a security blanket!”

Start wearing layers. Bring a sweatshirt or hoodie with you and put it on when you start to feel cooler than you’d like. Then you have one more layer to keep your warm when we go outside.

The end of this little lesson on life usually results in “Watch the weather/news or check your phone in the morning and see what the temperature will be all day this way you will be able to prepare properly and never be left out in the cold again.”