Feeling Sick? Go On a Field Trip! (What To Do When You're Sick And You Need to Homeschool)

For the second time this winter, I was sick and in desperate need of educating my children.

In the homeschooling world, there is no such thing as "substitutes teachers."  I was going on day ten of a bad case of pneumonia and my children had been running amuck for way too long.  

I had laid in bed for two days listening to my children watch "Jimmy Neutron" and "Scooby Doo," thinking of all the lessons I had been building on, the plans I had and the co-op we had to skip.  Needless to say, it was killing me!

So once I was on the antibiotics and starting to feel better, I decided to take a field trip.  I know. Most moms would say that was crazy talk. But for me, taking my kids out of the house,  placing all of us in a new environment and allowing someone else to teach them was just the plan!

We had been told about this very cool armory museum about an hour away, and I knew it was right up their alley. So, we piled into the car (with plenty of tissues for me and snacks for the boys) and made the trek.  

The Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Mass is truly a jewel in the rough.  Right off the highway, behind a small mall, the Museum towers over all the industrial buildings. The founder of the museum, John Woodman Higgins, turned his personal armor collection into a destination for people to learn about medieval history. In 1929, he built the five story building to house his collection. 

It is an amazing building full of wood and iron work and art deco style.

  As we chose to go on a Homeschooling Wednesday, the Museum was busy with kids enjoying the displays, creating their own shields and playing with a huge chess set. Needless to say, the boys absolutely loved it.

So what do you do when you're sick?

Here are some ideas

1. Educational videos.  Pull up some videos on topics your children have been learning about.  You can also go to websites like www.watchknowlearn.org and www.neo12.com. These are both websites your children can move around in with no fear of them stumbling on things that are inappropriate like you might on www.youtube.com.
2. Do an art project.  Get a really big piece of paper and all your markers and crayons, and ask them to draw on a topic that your have been studying.
3. Pull some toys out from the attic that your kids haven't played with in a while.  I especially like to pull out old building toys.
4. Board games! Scrabble, Monopoly, Sorry, Make 7, even Bingo.  
5. Call a friend.  One of the days I was sick, my homeschooling friend grabbed my six year old and taught him along with her daughter.  He got to learn all the Presidents of the United States that day.

- Jenny