There are no snow days in homeschooling and other disappointments

With the big threat of wintry weather yesterday, many locals schools used their early release system to get students home before the bad weather hit.  There was mass confusion mixed with glee from the kids at the thought of a snow day.  It comes as a great surprise to many home school students that they do not get that same experience.  Why?  Because there are no snow days in a home school!

This concept is particularly hard to comprehend for the homeschooler who once went to public school because everyone knows the joy of a snow day.  It's hard to make them understand that they are already at school and therefore, nothing will change.  There is no danger of being on the roads, because you aren't driving anywhere.  There's no need for an early release, because you are already home.  This can be a huge disappointment for the student. 

Another big disappointment?  There aren't really any sick days, either.  Unless you are nearing hospitalization, there is no reason why you cannot simply do some of your school work while in bed in your pajamas.  Or better yet, you can make up the sick day over the weekend!  Yet another bummer in the eyes of the homeschool student. 

As a homeschool mom, I have dealt with such disappointments in my own home.  I don't see them as disappointments because we have that flexibility to do our lessons as planned or to make them up when it is convenient.  The children might not always see it that way but as the teacher, I know that I can breathe a little bit easier knowing that these two scenarios will not put us too far behind in our lesson plans. 

To perhaps reach a compromise with the disappointed student, you can on a snow day perhaps do a brief study on weather and why it snows.  What do the weather conditions have to be in order for us to actually have snow?  Maybe you can find a way to actually study a snowflake before it melts?  Finding a quick study on these topics isn't too hard to find.

If it's a sick day you are dealing with and you have a child with a medical mind-set, you can even do a little research on what is ailing them and what they can do to get better quick.  It may not be the most exciting of research projects, but it's something different to pass the time when your child may not want to do their usual schoolwork.

If your child is still feeling disappointed that they don't get the same treatment as their public school counterparts, remind them that homeschooling is a little like the U.S. Postal Service:  nothing slows us down!