How to Home Educate When You are Full of Lurgy
My introduction to 2020 was to get two different cold viruses one after the other, so you are getting current practical information today!
For most families home education doesn’t stop when you get sick unless everyone is unwell, which means that there will be times when your kids are healthy and you feel rubbish and still have to get through the day.
Ideally you will have made a plan that you can work from ahead of time, not for that specific week, but for where your home education family is generally at the moment. But sometimes you need to wing it, because life and that’s what this post is going to concentrate on.
Start Where You Are:
Take a few minutes to think about how you are feeling and how that is going to directly impact your day.
Are you feeling sick? Do you have no energy? Do you have some energy in the mornings but by lunch time you are wiped out? Can you talk ok or is your throat sore, and your voice croaky?
If you are throwing up, (or stuck on the loo), or have a high fever, then you need to call in help if you can, or just call a sick day for everyone and be done with it.
Remember that tons of learning and good stuff happens when children play so a few quiet days while you get over your illness is not wasted time. You and they are not behind.
Remember, you are not behind. Yes even you with all you’ve had going on.
Use the Energy You’ve Got Wisely:
If you have some energy at the beginning of the day then front load with good stuff – read aloud if you have the voice for it (or audio books if you don’t), or a bit of poetry.
Maybe get the maths done if it’s not going to make anyone cry, or do some nature study instead if it will.
Do the stuff that isn’t high energy but will make you feel like you’ve done something with the day. Get the kids in the garden if you have one and the weather is ok, or put on music so that they can get their wiggles out and move their bodies.
Sit with a cup of something warm, or a big glass of water and let them do stuff around you.
It will be ok.
Then have some lunch and pat yourself on the back for getting something done when you are full of lurgy.
If you can get them to their usual groups and classes, and all that is required from you is to getting them there, and then sitting somewhere warm while they do their thing, then go for it if you’re up for it. Otherwise give it a miss like you would if your kid was sick.
Remember: Your needs are important too.
Your needs are important too.
Quiet Afternoons:
The afternoon is for:
- Documentaries
- Movies
- Audio books
- Radio comedy
- Podcasts
- Colouring sheets/colouring books
- Sticker books
- Crafts that your kids can take control of and that won’t stress you out (like collaging magazines, or making mini books (link to a mini book tutorial)
- Graphic novels
- Lego
- Any toys you think they have grown out of and have put to one side (that old trainset or a big box of Duplo)
- Anything that they haven’t played with in ages that you can dig out
- Jigsaws
Don’t stress out about screens (though you know your children and their needs better than anyone else.) Don’t worry about what other home edders on Instagram would do or are doing.
This is not the time to try and make your life Pinterest perfect.
This is the time to muddle through as best you can and get better soon.