Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday

Hurricane Irene closed area schools on Monday, but the storm has taught my kids some valuable lessons. For several days they studied meteorology as they watched the Weather Channel to monitor the hurricane as it came toward us. On Saturday, as the rains descended, they were able to study psychology as mom fretted about the possibility of a flooded basement. Then Sunday morning we lost power and the education really began. Here’s what the kids have learned:

1. Science lesson, part 1. When a neighbor’s tree falls on an electric wire, it causes a big explosion.

2. Science lesson, part 2. Almost all the fun things you want to do run on electricity—that includes the TV, computer games, and yes, the beloved Xbox.

3. History lesson. Listening to the Orioles game on a battery-operated radio is very much the way granddaddy used to listen to sports back in the 1940s.

4. Home economics. Honey chicken nuggets fried in a skillet over a propane stove do not taste the same as they do in a toaster oven.

5. Social studies. The generator has two outlets. If one outlet is used to run the refrigerator, you must negotiate with everyone else in the family to use the second. (Note: Mom’s coffee maker gets priority in the morning.)

6. Physical education. Picking up sticks in the yard exercises the backs, stomach, legs and arm muscles.

7. Mathematics. Calculate how many hours the generator can operate on one gallon of gasoline. If the gas costs $3.64 a gallon, how much does it cost to run the generator each hour?

8. Language arts. Books don’t require electricity and with no TV or Internet, there is plenty of time for reading whether you want to or not.

Yes, my kids are learning valuable lessons as a result of the storm, but we’re all getting tired of hurricane school. I’m more than ready to hand over their education to the capable teachers of the Baltimore County Public Schools.

What lessons did you kids learn during Hurricane Irene?