Sick Days

What do we do when someone is sick?

The last couple weeks we have had plenty of time to figure it out!! It started with Austin getting flu-like stuff, and then it moved through the rest of the kids, and now Nyah has cold-like stuff, and its moving through the rest of the kids. I'm a Mom so I just can't get sick right?

Whether we do school when someone is sick depends on who is sick and how they are feeling. When the younger two are sick, I can usually keep the older two on track with their school stuff, though there are more breaks as I attend to whoever isn't feeling well. When Austin and Nyah are sick how much school we do depends on how they are feeling. If they are still able to do chores and play around, we do school too. It may be abbreviated, such as just reading, writing, and math, but if they can run around they can work too.

But, as has been the case the last few days, when they are stuffed-up-feeling-horrible-listlessly-laying-around-sick, we don't do school work. How can I tell when we do work or not? When they said they didn't want to do chores this morning (and really, they say this most mornings!) I told them to go lay on their beds. They did it without complaining-- Austin stayed on his bed for over an hour and when he came down he lay on the floor with his blanket, and Nyah took a three hour nap. Nyah napping during the day is totlly weird. But if they put up a fight about having to go to their beds then they get to do chores and school.

Even when they are stuffed-up-feeling-horrible-listlessly-laying-around-sick it doesn't mean they get to sit in front of a TV for hours at a time either. Which is how we usually end up doing some school work when they are sick-- they don't like to be bored! Some things they have been doing this week are playing board/card games, reading or listening to books, snuggling with our dog, quietly playing with legoes or toys on their beds or the couch, and of course, we do watch some movies or cartoons.

Playing games together-

they actually cooperate and get along better

when they are sick- no fight in them I guess.

Listening to an audio version of Howard Pyle's Robin Hood.

Austin lined up our stools and lay on top of them-

Nyah and Olivia are underneath the blanket.

Listening to the story and

playing around under the blanket.

Later, after Jolie was awake from her nap, still listening.

Austin and Olivia were playing some type of game,

and Nyah was trying to coax Jolie under the blanket.

Having a leftover frosty someone found in the freezer-

a nice cold snack for sore throats.

Right now the younger two are napping, and Austin and Nyah are curled around my feet, snuggling in a blanket with the dog, reading a book about animals.