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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Feb 21 2005 at 2:22pm | IP Logged
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My littlest, Katie, isn't feeling well today. Actually, she and Nicholas have been taking turns with this come- and- go- fever and nasty cough. A symptom of this virus is the plaintive wail, "Hold me, Mama." The big kids have all caught it too, spaced about two days apart. And it lasts awhile. All this to say that I think the greatest challenge of homeschooling a large family is the illnesses. When the wee ones are sick, they need my undivided attention. So, their sick days interrupt learning plans. And then when one of the big ones is sick and we are all doing the same unit, the rhythm is interrupted. I'm already woefully behind on Alice's Easter Vigil plans; the rain forest unit is taking forever, which wouldn't usually bother me except that I was supposed to start a unit on England this week. That is an immoveable deadline since my husband is taking the three big boys to England in March. He wants them to know a thing or two before they get on the plane. But Katie wants to be held and Patrick is too feverish to work and Christian is playing sick (I think) and we're not moving according to plan  . So, what do I do? Do I put the rain forest on hold (2/3 of the way through) until after Easter? Do I study England as planned or do I give priority to Easter, knowing that we have read lots of British literature? Do I save the bulk of the Easter plans until they return, giving us about three days to do them before Easter? I did find some England webquests online. I guess I could let them poke around those while they are sick and then concentrate on the the Easter plans before they go, finishing up when they return...
I think the plans become more complicated relative to the number of children one has. I'm beginning to wonder why I plan at all...did I mention what a mess my house is? 
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Lissa
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| Posted: Feb 21 2005 at 2:56pm | IP Logged
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OK, I'll throw in my two cents...sounds like this is a
time to let the tide carry you. Save Alice's beautiful
Easter plans for next year, when you can luxuriate in
them. (A side note--Alice, seriously, you need to
publish these plans--they're stunning.) Dive into
England, since there's time pressure there. What did
you have in mind for England-immersion? 
As for the rainforest, what's left that you especially
wanted to read or do? Do the things you're most
excited about--especially if they're the sorts of things
you can do while cuddling sick babies on the couch.
{{{{{to your Katie and other sick Fosses}}}}
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Lissa
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: Feb 21 2005 at 3:08pm | IP Logged
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There's no "big sigh" emoticon so I guess I'll opt for this  . I really wanted to do this study this year because I feel like I need to emphasize Liturgy in a parish where it's being de-emphasized. but you're right, I can't get to it all. Maybe I'll jsut touch on the high points and then re-visit next year in greater depth. And...Mary Beth will be home with me when the boys are gone. She and Stephen both might be able to do the whole unit while the big boys only get some. Gosh, they'd learn a whole lot just reading the plans! And I agree, Alice you should publish these...but it would be a shame if by publishing you'd have to take them down from the board.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Bridget
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The boys will have a long flight. Could/would they do some of the plans on the plane? They could learn a lot in that amount of time.
I was thinking next year will be perfect to do the Easter plans. I'll have a non-mobile baby , slightly older children and no one making their first sacraments to prepare for.
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God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
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theNetSmith
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| Posted: Feb 21 2005 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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hehe. i found and implemented a fix for the Safari users whose posts had extra line-breaks in them.
your post above, Bridget, was my first confirmation that it worked.
-Tim
[sorry for the OT nature of this post]
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: When they are sick
