Karl Stolleis/Associated Press

Despite cool temperatures and howling sledders nearby, Scott Rowten, 16, takes a cat nap on his inner tube at Arroyo del Oso Golf Course on Osuna Road Northeast. With public schools closed all this week because of snow, Rowten, a junior at Del Norte High School, and other students enjoyed a free afternoon Wednesday.

More Local

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
• Former Marine to serve two years in jail for killing Albuquerque robber
• Wilson-Pearce battle for U.S. Senate exemplifies party's disparity

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

A few extra days of winter break - a few extra days for parents to meditate to the never-ending childhood mantra of "I'm bored."

Leftover snow and ice have canceled classes at Albuquerque and Rio Rancho public schools today and Friday, leaving parents in an awkward predicament.

What do you do with 89,000 stranded kids?

Some parents are dropping them off at day care, others are taking extra vacation days from their jobs and a few are in the same situation as their kids - trying to find something to do with their own snow days.

On Wednesday, APS hired 18 contractors to help remove snow on 496 parking lots at 131 schools. But with ice and snow still covering streets in many neighborhoods, officials deemed conditions too dangerous and canceled classes.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, said Kelly Eagan, a teacher at Valley High School who had classes canceled along with her children.

"I'm loving staying home with the kids," Eagan said. "It's too cold to go back."

Eagan was shopping with her son, Van, Wednesday at Target at 6100 Paseo del Norte N.E.

If nothing else, shopping is a good way to cure the boredom, she said.

So far, Eagan and her two children have spent time sledding, watching movies and admiring some of the local snow sculptures in their neighborhoods, said Van, 11, a fifth-grader at Osuna Elementary School.

"We saw a snowman drinking beer," Van said. "There was a hollowed-out igloo, too, that you can walk right into."

Van also built two snowmen with cool hats, he said.

Still, being out of school right now is becoming sort of strange.

"I'm not used to it - it's weird having school closed. I'm supposed to be there now," Van said, barely masking the joy in his voice.

It will likely cost APS $200,000 to clear snow from its school parking lots, said John Dufay, director of operations.

APS also had some water lines flood classrooms and a covered walkway collapse in the storm - with repairs likely to cost about $75,000, he said.

News of school closings caused a slight bump in the population at Alvarado Day School at 300 Alvarado Drive S.E., said Carol Armijo, director.

The school, which takes students from 6 weeks to 11 years old, had about 50 kids on Wednesday, which is a bit more than usual, Armijo said.

"We kind of prepare ahead. We have activities for them," Armijo said. "We let them play in the snow; we bring in games and movies. The kids are having a blast."

The opposite effect seemed to be happening Wednesday at the Downtown Child Care Center at 1105 Candelaria Road N.W.

Parents seem to be taking time off and keeping the kids home with them, said Gloria Rael, a teacher there.

"A lot of our kids actually haven't shown up," Rael said. "We haven't gotten a lot of calls from them, though. But it's a new semester."

Some parents undoubtedly are taking time off at Sandia National Laboratories so that they can mind their children, but that's handled on a case-by-case basis and hard to track, said Michael Padilla, a spokesman.

"We're pretty flexible, though, so it hasn't been a problem," Padilla said.

The same is true at Intel Corp., said Liz Shipley, a spokeswoman.

"We did have reduced staffing Tuesday because of the weather, and I know many employees have extended their vacations due to the weather," Shipley said. "I don't believe it's caused any productivity problems."

Susan Grace, a landscaper, plans to stay home from work through Friday with her three kids, Daniel-Hannah, 9; Josiah, 12; and Jordan, 13.

Tired of watching movies at home, the group also traveled out to Target for some random shopping, they said.

"I actually want to go back to school," Josiah said. "I'm getting bored of staying home."

Grace understands the need to cancel school. In her neighborhood, near Paseo del Norte and Eubank Boulevard Northeast, the streets are still covered in snow and it's hard to get around, she said.

"It really is a safety problem," Grace said.

Her family has built snowmen, watched "every kids movie at the movie theater" and gone sledding, Grace said.

They've also dug out the car at least three times after it got stuck.

It will be nice to get back to a normal routine come Monday, but in the meantime, at least the satellite TV is still working, she said.

"We've watched a lot of soccer, and President Ford's funeral," Grace said.