When Robin Hughes read a book about the weather to her kindergartners, she noticed that they looked confused when the children in the story started to sled, make snow angels, and participate in other fun snow day activities.
That’s when it hit her: How many of these Floridian children had even seen snow? Curious, she asked them just that… and only two kids raised their hands.
“I was shocked that they had not seen snow,”Robin said. “It’s hard for kids to understand the concept because they don’t have the relevant knowledge.â€
That’s when Robin began to think outside the box. With family still living in Kentucky, she texted her sister, Amber Estes, a very important request that started with a classic question: “Do you want to build a snowman?”
She then explained that, should it ever snow enough, she wanted Amber to try and overnight a snowman through UPS right to her school.
“So I said to her, we haven’t had a measurable amount of snow,” Amber said. “I was making every excuse in the world, and I accepted the challenge because I knew that I would never have to live up to it.”
Or so she thought.
When January 8 rolled around, Amber’s city saw an impressive 10 inches of snow – just enough to build a small snowman.
After a bit of planning, Amber carefully secured the snowman in foil that was surrounded by ice packs and styrofoam to keep him intact. The siblings paid $75 to have him shipped overnight, and Amber stayed up late tracking his location.
“It sounds silly,” she said, “but I get emotional talking about it because I knew when I sent him, I would never see him again.”
Still, Amber was just as excited as Robin when it was confirmed that the snowman had arrived! Up next was the moment of truth: Had he survived his trip?
Robin and another teacher gathered the students together for the big reveal, explaining beforehand that if their snowman friend arrived intact, he’d be named Lucky. If not, he’d be called Puddles.
Thankfully, as soon as Robin opened up the box, she excitedly let everyone know that Lucky had made it all the way from Kentucky without a scratch! Well, one of his blueberry eyes had fallen off, but that was an easy fix with the help of a toothpick.
“I was so excited because he made it and just the pure joy [the kids] had seeing this snowman,” Robin said. “They wanted to touch him. ‘Is he coming to life?’ [they asked].”
Since that day, the children have yet to get over their love of Lucky. At the moment, he’s being kept in the school cafeteria’s freezer, but at least twice a day, he’s taken out on a silver platter for them to touch, admire, and ask questions.
But, as is the case with all snowmen, Lucky won’t stay like this forever.
The school devised a great plan for where he’ll go next. Come Earth Day, melted Lucky will help water the newly-planted garden near the kindergartners. This way, the students can be taught about how everything comes full circle while also keeping their friend’s memory alive.
“In a time when things are not normal for kids in the classroom and for adults … this little snowman has created happiness,” Robin said.
Don’t forget to share Lucky’s story with a friend.
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