Recently I went on an anniversary getaway with my husband to Florida. It was one of the most relaxing trips we have ever had until… I wiped out on my bicycle and did a face plant on the concrete. Ouch! To make a long story short, I had to get six stitches around my eye and sported a lovely purple shiner and lots of bruises for several weeks. Of course, that wasn’t planned and we had to adjust our plans to accommodate my accident.

Perhaps you have had a year like that, maybe not one identical to mine. ( I certainly hope not!) But, situations come up and all of the plans you made have suddenly had to be changed to fit the need you have. How do you keep going? How do you stay on track with school?

1. Teach the main subjects. If you cannot teach every subject due to illness or other circumstances, focus on math and reading. You will be able to teach new science and social studies topics in the near future.
2. Combine subjects by reading stories that are about history or science. Children always enjoy listening to stories.
3. Make the circumstance a learning experience. Do you have to visit your sick mother throughout the week? Why not learn about the illness and ways to prevent it? This is a practical way to teach health. How about making up a car travel kit filled with books, math practice sheets, a map to track where you are going, get books on CD from the library, etc.
4. Complete assignments orally if necessary. My son had to have surgery on his arm and there were several days where we discussed the questions that were in his books I either was his scribe or I noted on his workbook papers that we had done it orally and gave him a score. For instance if he got 8 out of 10 correct I circled the ones he missed and wrote +8/10 on the top of the page along with the date. Dating papers helped keep me on track and later when I glanced through the workbook I wouldn’t panic when I saw a bunch of “blank pages”.
5. Take a break! Children have sick days in a traditional school setting and you are allowed to do so too. If circumstances are such that there is a long term illness or circumstance, be sure to have your child doing some type of school if at all possible.
6. Watch educational videos. I am not a huge proponent of television; I don’t even own one! But, history and science are enhanced by watching videos that are related to what you are studying. The Schlessinger Company has great children’s videos about a variety of history topics, both about the United States and other countries. WeetWoo is an app that is parent curated. As with anything, preview the video before allowing your child to watch it. 
7. Educational Apps can help reinforce concepts that you have been studying. Here are some that have been recommended by bestappsforkids.com and parents.com:

• Stack the States (geography)
• PopMath Basic Math (math)
• Wurdie (spelling)
• Bookworm (Spelling- for my own review check out my post about Language Arts games)
• Sums Stackers (math)
• Balloony Word (spelling)
• Green Eggs and Ham (reading)
• The Magic School Bus: Oceans (science)

Remember, things will return to normal and things will be routine once again.

Have a great week!

~ Lisa