Our week was thoroughly disrupted by a good ole case of the crud. (That’s what we call it here in Mobile.) Our issues with snot and sneezing and coughing began on Wednesday with the two youngest children and then passing on to the oldest children by week’s end. I even had to clean the carpets one night due to a coughing fit. Not pretty.
Still, this morning Lira walks in the living room and announces, “I have snot.” Good to know.
While I am disappointed that our pumpkin unit study had to be abandoned, I realized that there were more important things to do.
So, what does a homeschool sick day look like?
What do you do with the other children when one child is sick?
A homeschool sick day might look a little different in each family, but for us, I use a combination of the following:
- Worksheets and printables.
- Lots of cuddles and reading on the couch.
- PBS educational programming or documentaries on Netflix.
- Extended free-art time.
- Sitting on a quilt using our listening center.
- Computer, Wii, Leapster Explorer, or other games.
- Time outside (for the non-sickie kids).
- Free choice of items from our homeschool closet.
The day might not be a total waste if you can incorporate a few learning experiences but be realistic. There are some days when you just have to take an official sick day. Don’t look over your lesson plans and be frustrated at the time you will lose. Instead, take advantage of the extra cuddle time and see if there are any adjustments you can make to help catch up in the following week.
- Condense two related lessons into one.
- Skip over reviews of subjects your child has already mastered.
- Postpone a field trip or trip to the library and insert a regular school day.
Sick days are going to happen but they might end up being a blessing in disguise.
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