(WSPA) – Weather during the school year in the Carolinas constantly varies.

Early fall temperatures are in the low 90s with January temps in the 20s and 30s.

From sunshine and heat to rain and cold, students experience a wide range of weather conditions during the school year and dressing for those conditions is a daily challenge.

Brenda Edwards, a local mother, said that weather can be a problem when you are dressing kids for school.

“The weather is so wishy-washy,” Edwards said. “It could be hot part of the day and the next part of the day the weather becomes severe or maybe we get thunderstorms or rain so just sort of dress them in a what-if type of way if that makes sense.”

Students are expected to work hard during class time and for younger kids it’s important they have free time like recess.

Parent Steve Rowland said he thinks it’s important for students to be active.

“It’s good to have the exercise, good for them to not get into bad habits of being sedentary too long,” Rowland said. ” I think just being active is real good for them.”

Several studies praise the benefits of outdoor recess, especially for younger kids.

However, what are the rules for outdoor recess? If it’s raining, students will need an umbrella and a raincoat and outdoor recess becomes indoor recess with maybe some board games.

What about days in between? How hot is too hot to go outdoors and how cold is too cold? That has a big impact on how kids are dressed for school.

We contacted school districts across the area and their responses were mostly consistent. Most school districts told 7Weather they use guidelines provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.

In general, temperatures between 40 and 90 are considered acceptable. But most schools are allowed to decide what they think is best for their students.

The best advice for a great school year is to ask your child’s teacher for his or her rules for outdoor recess and as a parent be flexible and dress for the weather.

Making these small adjustments helps make sure your kids are comfortable regardless of the temperature. It also helps students enjoy their free and work time.

As Brenda Edwards said, “it’s very important. I think it helps them with their social skills learning how to deal with the different personalities in the world as they get older.”