Sick Again

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Have you ever gotten ill three times in two months? It seems like this upper respiratory virus keeps targeting our son, then it moves to our daughter and me. Thankfully, my husband never gets it.

Humphrey

Our daughter likes to create different characters. Meet Humphry.

Our son spent the week in bed, getting behind in all his school work. He barely had enough energy to check Slack and emails every day for communication purposes with his co-op teachers and Science Olympiad coaches and team partners. Continue reading »


Lessons from the Thirteenth Week

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The title could also be changed to “How to Homeschool While Your Entire Family Has the Flu.” Yes, we had the flu all of last week. It started the weekend before that, but we had no clue. We thought it was just a sore throat due to seasonal allergies.

Orchestra portrait

Every year, they take official portraits for the youth symphony.

Then our son started coughing badly on the way to orchestra. He stayed for the photo session, happening only that day, but not for the rehearsal. The next day, he was running a fever. A visit to the doctor confirmed he had the flu. By now it was too late for anything other than rest and lots of fluids. I made tea and heated up soup several times a day. Continue reading »


Homeschooling through Sickness

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It’s January – the season of colds and flu. Throughout the year, parents and children contract an illness or a condition and some are more serious than others. Do you homeschool through sickness? The short answer is, it depends.

Cup of tea and muffins

A cup of tea and muffins can restore a bit of energy.

Last year was a bad year for our health. One of our children coughed for six months straight and she needed inhalers to get better. She also fractured her elbow. Personally, I developed adrenal fatigue (or insufficiency) and discovered I cannot tolerate gluten in my diet. Continue reading »


When Pollen Stops Learning

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Where we live, flora abounds. We live five minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an international biosphere. They say there are more species of flowers blooming in the Park than in all of Europe combined. That’s a lot of pollen.

Skype violin lesson

My daughter plays a piece by heart for her violin teacher, via Skype.

We drink plenty of fluids and limit our desserts, to help the immune system fight all the pollen. When we feel a tingling sensation in our throats, we drink even more water and start taking Vitamin C and oregano oil (one drop mixed with a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil). When our eyes start getting itchy and watery, we even take over the counter allergy medicine to keep the symptoms from ruining our quality of life.  Continue reading »