One thing that is very different between homeschool and regular school are our sick days. For the case of sniffles or a cough that might be just a little too much to send to school, we try to push through, which I guess earns us an extra day they wouldn’t have had if they’d been attending a traditional class.
But it only takes one family member sick enough to be completely cranky and/or bedridden to throw the whole thing out of commission. It’s not like in a classroom, where the sick kids stay home and the teacher can work with who is there. Or like in a family, where the well kids go off to school, away from the sickies, and get educated. It’s all rolled into one messy ball.
We’ve been passing around one, or possibly two, illnesses for over a week now and not much schooling is going on. First, it was Peanut, who probably has the biggest affect on what we can do because he’s the neediest and when he’s sick and I have to carry him around (no, snuggling on the couch isn’t good enough for him–he wants us up and moving!) constantly or listen to him scream, its pretty hard to get much done.
Then, Bug got it and while he’s easy as far as sick kids go, he does get bored lying on the couch for days on end, not feeling well enough to read or do anything. The TV has been on a lot to help pass the time, and once that comes on, Bean is completely lost to me. Technically, she should have been able to keep going with things, and I’ve pushed her to do some math and reading each day, but the TV is like a magnet to her. She just can’t hear or see anything else when its on.
And so, we have spent hours watching mindless TV (with a couple educational things thrown in there), blowing noses, and trying to keep our food in our bellies where it belongs. At least we don’t get sick very often.
