Can We Take a Sick Day?

For the past few days, Charlotte has been battling a little virus (slight fever, extra tired, cranky, etc.).  Last night, Abigail went to bed with a slight fever and awoke this morning telling me that she wanted to nap today (and she NEVER asks for a nap!)  

Last year, when we sent Abigail to school, I would have kept her home from school if she had any fever the night before.  

However, now that we are homeschooling, I have a hard time with the idea of taking a "sick day."  Even when we are feeling under the weather, we still have school.  

So, this morning, we got up and started school as usual.  Both girls were cranky and had a hard time focusing, but we still did our lessons.  

Then, about an hour and a half into our morning, I started vomiting.  

And, still, I insisted on teaching.  

As the morning went on, I realized that schooling was not go as well as planned.  We were learning and were enjoying some of our lessons, but none of us had the energy (mental or physical) for the intense learning.  

So, I did something crazy - we decided to forgo our lesson plans, finish with a few fun activities, and end school early for a "sick day".  

Now that it is late afternoon and we have had several hours to rest, I am thankful that I decided it is ok to slow our pace when necessary.  

I know that I will still be cautious about taking a "sick day" unless we really need it because I know how easy it will be to take a day off anytime we aren't 100% and thus never get our learning done, but I am feeling a little better about "homeschool sick days."

How do you handle sick days in your homeschool?


Marla is a former special education teacher and homeschooling mom of two little girls (ages 3 and 5).  She has her PhD in Special Education and loves to put her knowledge to use teaching her children and sharing learning/teaching ideas.  She blogs about raising and teaching her children at Marla's Motherhood Musings and her family's experiences living in Zambia at Our Life in Lusaka.