You know there will be sick days. But it’s hard to plan for the unpredictable. Sickness never picks a convenient time to visit. It never shows up the same way twice. And you never know who’s going to get it. Still, no matter when it occurs, how bad it is, or who gets sick, these three steps will help you survive homeschool sick days.
Acceptance
There’s no getting around the fact that homeschool sick days are a challenge. Nobody likes them. However, it does help to adopt the right mindset and work towards acceptance.
Sickness doesn’t come calling when you’re ahead in all your schoolwork and have nothing to do… (like either of those things ever happens, anyway). In fact, sickness always seems to hit when you have big plans to get a lot of school work done, go on a much anticipated field trip, take a vacation, etc.
Believe me, I know. That was life at our house last week. For me, acceptance always takes a bit of work. We missed out on a much needed weekend away and a fun field trip, among other things. And this is the second time it’s happened this fall. Last month, I had a cold. Last week, it was my 15-year-old.
So, if you’re like me, you might get a little grouchy – either because you’re sick or because everyone else is. I’m pretty sure that’s a normal reaction.
It helps to remind yourself of the advantages of homeschooling. Homeschooling is, at its core, very flexible. Once you/your child feel better, you’ll be able to catch up – at your own pace. As homeschoolers, you won’t need to work evenings and weekends to get back on track. And you will have many other opportunities for outings in the future.
Simple acceptance of the situation and recognition that it’s not the end of the world will do wonders for everyone’s frame of mind. So will an extra dose of patience.
Chances are you have a good amount of patience, even if you don’t think you do. If you’ve been homeschooling for any length of time, you know your capacity for patience is much larger than you once imagined. Now’s the time to draw on your reserves.
Prioritize
Prioritize what absolutely has to be accomplished during homeschool sick days. This applies no matter who’s sick – you, your children, or the whole darn family.
Make a list and then determine who can get it done. If not you, then perhaps your spouse, a relative, or friend. Your priority list might include:
- Doctor appointment(s) if needed.
- Emails, texts, and/or calls to cancel or change plans.
- Groceries, particularly if you need items like soup, tissues, juice, tea, etc.
After that, you:
- Rest. As much as you/your children can.
- Assess what you/your children can reasonably accomplish.
We always try to get some schoolwork done. I mean, what else are we doing? At the onset of illness or a bad virus, we do just hunker down and endure. But if it’s just a common cold or the tail end of sickness, it makes sense to try and get things done. Luckily, my family agrees on this.
By the way, chores get extremely low priority when we’re sick. And, believe it or not, my kids are fine with that. 🙂
Find the Good
When you or your children feel yukky, it’s difficult to see an up side. But you can find the good. Perhaps, despite being sick you can:
- Listen to some great audio books or spend more time reading aloud.
- Do some easy crafts. (see below)
- Watch some documentaries, TED talks, or movies that are just plain entertaining.
- Make plans for when you’re feeling better.
- Relax.
For me, last week was spent getting some extra things done. I’m still missing our long weekend away and our field trip, but it gave me two extra days to work on my to-do list and make some plans. And my 15-year-old made good progress on school despite struggling with a head cold all week.
Homeschool sick days aren’t on anyone’s wish list. But if you accept them with some grace and patience, prioritize what really needs to get done, and find the good, you’ll get through them with a minimum of discomfort.
Take care,
A few easy art projects for sick days: