KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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"Lowe's Hill" in Olathe transformed into a winter wonderland as families flocked to the popular sledding spot to make the most of the weekend winter storm, with many parents getting the welcome news that school would be canceled on Monday.
The hill was packed with children racing down the slopes, some with hot chocolate bets on the line.
Three young sledders — Ella, Maria and Emma — had discovered a less crowded section of the hill where they could sled continuously without waiting in long lines.
"All the people are over there! But nobody is over here because it's less crowded," one of the girls explained. "So it's actually better. You can just keep going up, down."
When asked about returning to school, the young sledders had mixed feelings.
"I mean, maybe a half day," Emma said. "Half of the time I want to be at home, half of the time I want to be at school."
For Adam Patrick, Emma and Maria's dad, getting outside was essential for managing energetic children cooped up indoors.
"We had to get out of the house. These little ones are too rambunctious on cold days," Patrick said. "In case they gotta go back to school, save those teachers some pain."
Patrick, who works Tuesday through Saturday, saw the snow day as an opportunity for quality family time.
"You can't take this time back for anything," Patrick said.
Parents joined in on the action. Some brothers wrestled in the snow with their children while others cheered from the sidelines.
For parents who work from home, the snow day means adjusting routines while keeping children entertained.
Katherine Kitzerow said the snow day is a welcome treat that won't disrupt her work schedule significantly.
"It keeps life the same," Kitzerow said. "We crave snow. So I am from upstate New York, and I dream for this. It's nothing. We would definitely not have snow days for this."
The timing also helped extend the holiday spirit for some families.
"It didn't really feel like the Christmas season during Christmas," Kitzerow said. "We still have some Christmas lights up in the house, so it's making it feel more festive. So 'tis the season."
Bradley Brensing brought his family to what he described as the busiest and biggest sledding hill in the area.
"The storm wasn't as bad as it was supposed to be, but coming out and doing some of these things like this is great," Brensing said. "Just get an hour or two out of the way and not get stir crazy."
Despite enjoying the family time, Brensing expressed hope that schools would reopen Monday morning to avoid accumulating too many makeup days.
"I fully expect the kids to be back in school tomorrow," he said. "In my opinion, the roads aren't too bad, and the city crews and everybody else has done a pretty good job of keeping things cleared off without getting too much snow."
However, his expectations were dashed when the district announced Monday's cancellation at about 4 p.m. Sunday.
The uncertainty of snow day announcements can be challenging for parents trying to plan.
"Sometimes it's a little tough to wait and hear it out, sometimes it comes very last minute," Brensing said. "It can be a little tough, and we always improvise and stay busy and make other plans."
His concerns about makeup time stem from last year's experience.
"I'd like to see the kids go back to school tomorrow, that way we don't have to pile up cold days or snow days at the end of the year," Brensing said. "It seems like last year, we had to do some extra time in school every day at the end of the year. Just to meet all the hours the kids were after, to make up for the snow days we had last year."
For students like Anna Dittmar, news of Monday's cancellation was cause for celebration.
"We're not going to school tomorrow. I am so happy," Anna Dittmar said. "Yeah, I like school, but like, ain't nobody got time for that right now. We got time to be playing in the snow."
Her mother, Kristen Dittmar, said the family extended their sledding session once they received the school cancellation text.
"We kind of weren't sure about how long we were going to be here, but once we got the text about school being out, we were just like, we'll keep rolling," Kristen Dittmar said. "We'll be ready. We got lots of snacks ahead of it, all the good stuff the kids like to eat."
Kansas law allows school districts to declare up to five snow days per year. If they exceed that limit, they must make up those hours by extending school days or adding days to the calendar.
Kristen Dittmar acknowledged the balance between fun and educational requirements.
"If it's a couple snow days, absolutely worth it, because there's nothing more fun than that spontaneous day off," she said. "It does get a little tricky when you have a lot. I think last year we had a lot of makeup time."
Despite the scheduling concerns, she emphasized the importance of embracing childhood joy.
"Just remembering how fun it is and how fun it is to be a kid and have those snow days. We can live vicariously through them, all the fun we get to have," Kristen Dittmar said.
When asked about the challenges of being a kid and having to plan around playing in the snow, Anna Dittmar responded with typical teenage sarcasm.
"Yeah, it's so difficult," she said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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