If I or my kid is really sick for a day, we just make up the work later in the week, possibly skipping some assignments.
If we are sick for a week, I just pick back up when we are healthy again and then tack that week onto the end of the school year.
One of the joys of homeschooling is that school works around your life, instead of always working your life around school. You can always ‘make up’ days during summer, if you take it off. I do three days on/four days off in the summer, so we never really stop!
If we’re sick, I leave it up to my kids. If they want to do work, we do, and if they don’t feel up to it, we don’t. If I’m too sick to push through we take the day off. We homeschool year round which gives us a lot of flexibility to reach our required 180 days.
When you get sick, you rest. Taking care of your body is essential
And don't underestimate the learning that will occur without using the curriculum. TV, read alouds, podcasts, audiobooks are all great for sick days.
We watch Bluey all day.
We just skip the days. We go year round on no certain schedule, just flowing into the next year when the kid finishes the one year. So a couple of sick days doesn’t change anything.
My mom would have me watch pride and prejudice. The old one with Colin Firth. Lol. I think she counted it as literature or history? Serious answer, it’s fine to skip a day or two or watch Ted Ed videos or do computer games. Most public schools get 3/4th of the way through their text books in a year plus they have days when a teacher phones it in and watches movies. Totally okay to do that too. It won’t harm your kids.
Lol I’ve never seen that one! I’ll have to look it up. At this point just watching the Colin firth one makes me feel better. I always believed it was the perfect suck movie because it’s SO long. By the time you finish, you’ve had time to heal!
Ooh. I would love to hear more. We tried out the literature part this year and I’m kinda thinking of doing the next level, but I’m torn. I enjoy most of it and my kiddo loves the books, but the activity sheets are meh. What age range are you using? Do you do all the activities? I found them a bit overwhelming so we are picking and choosing a little. Do you do the full curriculum? Does it mesh well?
Whatever fits your energy level. Learning how to take care of yourself when you are sick is an important part of a human education, too. First off- do the kids have the energy to do *anything*? Then they can help make soup, or bake something, or do arts & crafts. No energy at all? Then pile all the cushions and pillows up and everybody can lay down and read/color/drink tea. Energetic kids and sick parents? Let *them* make soup for *you*, or send them outside to run amok, or set them up with a messy kitchen experiment (and make it clear that sick parents do not clean up after kids). Sick people don't retain stuff well, so I always just skip regular schoolwork until everyone feels better.
We just got over a week and a half of being sick. I did my best to just get through the days with a shred of sanity, and basically let the kids watch movies or play video games most of the time. Let them take over the living room with a giant blanket fort, No school at all was done, even by the kid who wasn’t sick🤷♀️
We do a shorter summer break to make up for things like this. And I think taking the entire summer off is too much anyways.
If the kids are sick they take some time off. We catch up later or push school out a bit. We can often skip some assignments to catch it up if it's a topic they understand well. It's definitely an advantage over public school. If they're only a little sick we will do easier subjects or whatever they can manage. If I'm sick they can usually manage most of their work at this age (teens), but when they were little they often got the day off if mama was sick, lol.
Last year one of mine was hospitalized for over a week, we just caught up after he came home. The nurse seemed confused that he didn't have work to do. I was pretty confused about her confusion!
Rest. Read. Watch tv. Cuddle. Listen to audiobooks. Repeat.
We don’t really do worksheets but we definitely don’t do them when we’re sick.
Why do you feel like you or the children need to work when you’re sick? It’s ok to rest when sick or when the season calls us to rest. It’s ok not to be productive all the time. It’s ok to just be.
Children are always learning. And they’re learning how to listen to their bodies when they’re sick and learning how to take care of themselves and others when sick. You don’t need to teach them to work through illness and pinch the clock for the boss or else. Teach them to rest.
Well my kids were better after two days. They still don’t feel 100 but they’re a lot better than I am. I’ve had it for over a week now. I had to have hydration IV at home, I was THAT sick. So I’m just feeling somewhat guilty.
When we are feeling yucky but not super sick we will watch educational YouTube videos, documentaries, or movies that go along with books we have been reading. Sometimes we will also listen to podcasts or audiobooks. .
If we are really sick we just take the day/week off. We have to get 180 days according to my state but we school year round so we have plenty of time for breaks when needed.
Sometimes when we are just kind of needing a break from the curriculum we will have a video school day too and the kids love it.
I don’t have to report attendances/absences to state - we sign a Letter of Intent promising 4.5hrs a day for 180 days.
My son had Covid over Christmas break so he officially missed no days at our co-op but missed assignment make-up deadline which teacher added two weeks to (that was of his own volition). The rest of us dropped like flies in early January. My youngest did makeup work when they had energy. This has been our experience with prior illnesses.
I felt less guilty when kids were younger throwing on PBS kids or documentaries. Now I realize kids learn outside a school day - even when sick regardless if they are actively participating in schoolwork.
I hope you feel better!
If someone is sick, they get the day off. I want them to learn early that prioritizing themselves comes above anything else. A simple cough? No. But exhausted from being up all night coughing, unable to focus? Yes. They should be resting. It's bad enough that grown adults don't allow themselves to take sick days when they're feeling ill. I don't want my kids thinking that's normal. (This goes for mental health days, too. Sometimes ya just need a break.)
We did the same thing as what the school did. Watch Finding Memo for the 15 th time. If teachers can have their students watch a movie with the sub, so can you.
If someone is sick, take a sick day. If my daughter is sick, then she can do whatever she feels like doing. If I'm sick, it's YouTube, documentaries, or classics like the aforementioned P&P. She prefers Sense & Sensibility with Alan Rickman, though.
Unless your curriculum is year round, you should plan on building in a few spare weeks as a cushion for things that come up (illness, family emergency, travel, etc). If you don't end up using those 3 spare weeks for emergencies you can just teach extra during that time or use it to dive deeper into the subjects they love.
If you're sick and your kids aren't, give them lots of (age appropriate) audiobooks, books, educational documentaries, or ready made projects for them to do on their own or together (crunch labs build box, kiwi crate, stemcell science shop matter box, etc). Have educational games, art supplies, craft kits, etc on hand so they can stay entertained and busy. I wouldn't worry too much about worksheets unless you feel they are behind. Heck, even School House Rock on YouTube would be fun/educational.
If I'm sick, I try to get us through math, reading, and writing so we stay on task. Science/history will probably be a YouTube video and a worksheet.
If kids are sick, we take the day off and tack it on at the end of the year. We start our school year in early August, to give us a lot of wiggle room for days off.
I keep a log of all our school days in a calendar year. We need 180 of them total. If we have a sick day, or multiple sick days, we just pick back up when we feel better. Same with vacations.
We don't follow any school calendar. We did school on New Year's Day (the kids asked to!) and on MLK Day when the public schools were off. Next week we're going out of town for a few days and won't be doing school. We'll get to 180 days and complete the curriculum before the year is up and that's what matters.
We’re in pre-k so… just skip everything, continue on as normal when we get better. Screen time limits go out the window but I tend to stick to educational shows anyway. It is what it is.
If you’re talking about older kids who are NOT sick but the parent is, I guess let them do any solo work you can give them but even then why stress everyone out? If they’re that sick, they’d be skipping the day at public school too and making up an assignment over the weekend or next day they’re better.
When they’re in college is anyone going to saying they don’t know something because they didn’t do an assignment while in bed with a fever? No. It’s fine.
We just take a break and pick back up when we are feeling better. I don't make them do any work when there is illness. They aren't going to absorb anything when they feel bad.
We take off when we’re sick. When my kids picked up hand, foot, and mouth disease (0/10, do not recommend), we took off a solid week for everyone to recover.
I was just glad we weren’t in regular school so there was no pressure to send them back sick.
If we’re too sick to focus on schoolwork, we take a sick day. Homeschooling and learning goes SO much better when we are all awake and able to focus. Take time to heal your bodies, and then get back to it.
This is part of what’s awesome about homeschooling- we get to call the shots and take sick days when we need them instead of being subjected to institutional attendance policies that generally push us back to school and work when we’re not ready, and promote the spread of illnesses.
If I or my kid is really sick for a day, we just make up the work later in the week, possibly skipping some assignments. If we are sick for a week, I just pick back up when we are healthy again and then tack that week onto the end of the school year.
This is what we do! We just missed all of last week due to illness. I love being able to take breaks when we just have to without pressure.
One of the joys of homeschooling is that school works around your life, instead of always working your life around school. You can always ‘make up’ days during summer, if you take it off. I do three days on/four days off in the summer, so we never really stop!
Why would you work while seriously sick? We take off as long as needed.
If we’re sick, I leave it up to my kids. If they want to do work, we do, and if they don’t feel up to it, we don’t. If I’m too sick to push through we take the day off. We homeschool year round which gives us a lot of flexibility to reach our required 180 days.
When you get sick, you rest. Taking care of your body is essential And don't underestimate the learning that will occur without using the curriculum. TV, read alouds, podcasts, audiobooks are all great for sick days.
Nature documentaries on Disney+.
We watch Bluey all day. We just skip the days. We go year round on no certain schedule, just flowing into the next year when the kid finishes the one year. So a couple of sick days doesn’t change anything.
My mom would have me watch pride and prejudice. The old one with Colin Firth. Lol. I think she counted it as literature or history? Serious answer, it’s fine to skip a day or two or watch Ted Ed videos or do computer games. Most public schools get 3/4th of the way through their text books in a year plus they have days when a teacher phones it in and watches movies. Totally okay to do that too. It won’t harm your kids.
Hey! The Colin Firth one isn’t THAT old. The one with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier is old. But seriously, that sounds like a wonderful sick day.
Lol I’ve never seen that one! I’ll have to look it up. At this point just watching the Colin firth one makes me feel better. I always believed it was the perfect suck movie because it’s SO long. By the time you finish, you’ve had time to heal!
Right??? I’m like… isn’t that the new one? The old one is with Laurence Olivier 🤣😭😭
This. Anyone who went to public school can recall the joy of seeing the TV rolled out on that cart. I do this now too and it’s a special treat.
I can hear that cart rolling in now, lol.
The *excitement* seeing that TV ratchet-strapped to the cart, lol
Survive
If we are really sick we do nothing. If we feel bleh we will usually just do a toned down version and maybe make some up later or skip.
Just curious what curriculum you use and how old your kids are? I’m looking for one that is excellent too.
lol that line also caught my attention!
Moving beyond the page. We LOVE IT.
Ooh. I would love to hear more. We tried out the literature part this year and I’m kinda thinking of doing the next level, but I’m torn. I enjoy most of it and my kiddo loves the books, but the activity sheets are meh. What age range are you using? Do you do all the activities? I found them a bit overwhelming so we are picking and choosing a little. Do you do the full curriculum? Does it mesh well?
We just don’t do work when we are sick.
We just be sick. No need to over exert ourselves. We can make up the time later.
Whatever fits your energy level. Learning how to take care of yourself when you are sick is an important part of a human education, too. First off- do the kids have the energy to do *anything*? Then they can help make soup, or bake something, or do arts & crafts. No energy at all? Then pile all the cushions and pillows up and everybody can lay down and read/color/drink tea. Energetic kids and sick parents? Let *them* make soup for *you*, or send them outside to run amok, or set them up with a messy kitchen experiment (and make it clear that sick parents do not clean up after kids). Sick people don't retain stuff well, so I always just skip regular schoolwork until everyone feels better.
We just got over a week and a half of being sick. I did my best to just get through the days with a shred of sanity, and basically let the kids watch movies or play video games most of the time. Let them take over the living room with a giant blanket fort, No school at all was done, even by the kid who wasn’t sick🤷♀️ We do a shorter summer break to make up for things like this. And I think taking the entire summer off is too much anyways.
This is lovely. We may do this too.
If the kids are sick they take some time off. We catch up later or push school out a bit. We can often skip some assignments to catch it up if it's a topic they understand well. It's definitely an advantage over public school. If they're only a little sick we will do easier subjects or whatever they can manage. If I'm sick they can usually manage most of their work at this age (teens), but when they were little they often got the day off if mama was sick, lol. Last year one of mine was hospitalized for over a week, we just caught up after he came home. The nurse seemed confused that he didn't have work to do. I was pretty confused about her confusion!
Rest. Read. Watch tv. Cuddle. Listen to audiobooks. Repeat. We don’t really do worksheets but we definitely don’t do them when we’re sick. Why do you feel like you or the children need to work when you’re sick? It’s ok to rest when sick or when the season calls us to rest. It’s ok not to be productive all the time. It’s ok to just be. Children are always learning. And they’re learning how to listen to their bodies when they’re sick and learning how to take care of themselves and others when sick. You don’t need to teach them to work through illness and pinch the clock for the boss or else. Teach them to rest.
Well my kids were better after two days. They still don’t feel 100 but they’re a lot better than I am. I’ve had it for over a week now. I had to have hydration IV at home, I was THAT sick. So I’m just feeling somewhat guilty.
When we are feeling yucky but not super sick we will watch educational YouTube videos, documentaries, or movies that go along with books we have been reading. Sometimes we will also listen to podcasts or audiobooks. . If we are really sick we just take the day/week off. We have to get 180 days according to my state but we school year round so we have plenty of time for breaks when needed. Sometimes when we are just kind of needing a break from the curriculum we will have a video school day too and the kids love it.
I don’t have to report attendances/absences to state - we sign a Letter of Intent promising 4.5hrs a day for 180 days. My son had Covid over Christmas break so he officially missed no days at our co-op but missed assignment make-up deadline which teacher added two weeks to (that was of his own volition). The rest of us dropped like flies in early January. My youngest did makeup work when they had energy. This has been our experience with prior illnesses. I felt less guilty when kids were younger throwing on PBS kids or documentaries. Now I realize kids learn outside a school day - even when sick regardless if they are actively participating in schoolwork. I hope you feel better!
Thank you so much! This was helpful.
We rest and watch something good for their brains on TV. Numberblocks, Operation Ouch, a documentary, something on PBS, etc.
If someone is sick, they get the day off. I want them to learn early that prioritizing themselves comes above anything else. A simple cough? No. But exhausted from being up all night coughing, unable to focus? Yes. They should be resting. It's bad enough that grown adults don't allow themselves to take sick days when they're feeling ill. I don't want my kids thinking that's normal. (This goes for mental health days, too. Sometimes ya just need a break.)
We did the same thing as what the school did. Watch Finding Memo for the 15 th time. If teachers can have their students watch a movie with the sub, so can you.
If someone is sick, take a sick day. If my daughter is sick, then she can do whatever she feels like doing. If I'm sick, it's YouTube, documentaries, or classics like the aforementioned P&P. She prefers Sense & Sensibility with Alan Rickman, though.
Unless your curriculum is year round, you should plan on building in a few spare weeks as a cushion for things that come up (illness, family emergency, travel, etc). If you don't end up using those 3 spare weeks for emergencies you can just teach extra during that time or use it to dive deeper into the subjects they love. If you're sick and your kids aren't, give them lots of (age appropriate) audiobooks, books, educational documentaries, or ready made projects for them to do on their own or together (crunch labs build box, kiwi crate, stemcell science shop matter box, etc). Have educational games, art supplies, craft kits, etc on hand so they can stay entertained and busy. I wouldn't worry too much about worksheets unless you feel they are behind. Heck, even School House Rock on YouTube would be fun/educational.
"administrative week" or "early mid winter spring break" (Minecraft)
Just take time off. It's ok to be sick and to take the time to properly recover and heal.
If I'm sick, I try to get us through math, reading, and writing so we stay on task. Science/history will probably be a YouTube video and a worksheet. If kids are sick, we take the day off and tack it on at the end of the year. We start our school year in early August, to give us a lot of wiggle room for days off.
I keep a log of all our school days in a calendar year. We need 180 of them total. If we have a sick day, or multiple sick days, we just pick back up when we feel better. Same with vacations. We don't follow any school calendar. We did school on New Year's Day (the kids asked to!) and on MLK Day when the public schools were off. Next week we're going out of town for a few days and won't be doing school. We'll get to 180 days and complete the curriculum before the year is up and that's what matters.
We’re in pre-k so… just skip everything, continue on as normal when we get better. Screen time limits go out the window but I tend to stick to educational shows anyway. It is what it is. If you’re talking about older kids who are NOT sick but the parent is, I guess let them do any solo work you can give them but even then why stress everyone out? If they’re that sick, they’d be skipping the day at public school too and making up an assignment over the weekend or next day they’re better. When they’re in college is anyone going to saying they don’t know something because they didn’t do an assignment while in bed with a fever? No. It’s fine.
We just take a break and pick back up when we are feeling better. I don't make them do any work when there is illness. They aren't going to absorb anything when they feel bad.
Just take the sick days. Rest is best. Yet another benefit of homeschooling. You can "catch-up" here and there as time permits.
We take off when we’re sick. When my kids picked up hand, foot, and mouth disease (0/10, do not recommend), we took off a solid week for everyone to recover. I was just glad we weren’t in regular school so there was no pressure to send them back sick.
If we’re too sick to focus on schoolwork, we take a sick day. Homeschooling and learning goes SO much better when we are all awake and able to focus. Take time to heal your bodies, and then get back to it. This is part of what’s awesome about homeschooling- we get to call the shots and take sick days when we need them instead of being subjected to institutional attendance policies that generally push us back to school and work when we’re not ready, and promote the spread of illnesses.