When learning occurs...in spite of illness...

We've had a week of sickness here....the flu hit both of my little ones pretty hard and not much of our typical homeschooling occured...certainly not much of what I had planned for our lessons this week. I've also had to accept the fact that sometimes, it is MY illness that prevents our homeschooling days to go exactly how I've planned....I have fibromyalgia, and I've learned over the past 12 years of homeschooling (and living with my own illness) that learning will occur everyday...and that you have to be adaptable. Along with lots of reading out loud, of course, below are some things that have helped us this week and over the years with my older children as well.Math war card games have been wonderful tools to help with memorizing the math facts. Right now, my son is memorizing his multiplication/division facts.
School House Rock! I LOVE this! I remember them from when I was a little girl...and I can only recite the preamble to the constitution by singing it! LOL This has helped all of my children memorize multiplication facts as well many history, grammar and science as well. Now, they even have a section on government and of course, who doesn't remember "Bill"...and how a bill becomes a law?!

And of course....Conjunction Junction!

The time period we are studying in American history is the Colonial/Revolutionary War period right now and all of my children love Liberty's Kids! I was so grateful that we were able to borrow the series from our library.

Also...these Nest videos are wonderful resources! As my children were laid low with fevers and headaches this week...they were entertained by watching some of these history dvd's about people and events that we had studied....there have been a lot of "Mom...did you know...?" questions around here, since they alway seemed to learn some little bit that they didn't know.

Forgot to find an image for the LeapFrog dvd's. My 5 year old has watched the phonics and reading dvd's and they have really helped cement her reading skills in a fun and memorable way. I've found that all 4 of my children are "kinesthetic" learners....they learn best by hearing (which is why songs stick in our heads), seeing and doing/reading for themselves.

I've had moments over the years of dealing with my illness where I've questioned, can I really do this? Can I really effectively teach my children at home? And the answer is a resounding yes! With some adaptability and creativity....and a lot of prayer...homeschooling can be the perfect fit when there is an illness in the family. ~Sue~