Homeschool Sick Days: 67 Easy Ways to Keep Learning

Homeschool sick days can be a challenge, but they certainly don’t have to mean a break in learning! Part of the beauty of homeschooling is that we, as parents, can create a unique, individualized education for our kids. When you (or the kids) aren’t feeling 100%, there are plenty of ways to keep the learning going!

Listen, if there is some severe sickness or ailments going around, please just take the day off! You can pick up where you left off when everyone’s feeling better with no worries!

But, if it’s a matter of not wanting to spread germs or if the kids aren’t feeling well, but still want to keep themselves occupied, you might as well keep the learning going, right?!

Whether it’s the kids or a parent that’s not feeling well, there are seemingly endless ways to keep the kids learning during homeschool sick days. Today, I’m sharing 67 super easy ways to keep the kids learning during a sick day!

Pssst…you should totally save this article because you know you’re gonna want to refer back to it one day!

This article is also a growing resource. This means that I’ll be continually updating and adding links as I find them because I want to make this an amazing resource for the homeschooling community!

Learning Activities to Keep the Kids Engaged

Because these activities are all appropriate for homeschool sick days, they’re all easy or no prep and are all fairly low-energy activities. They’re perfect when a chill day is just what the doctor ordered!

To make activity-selecting as easy as possible for you (who wants to make a ton of decisions during a sick day? not me!), I’ve organized all the activities into categories. Of course, some activities may technically fall into multiple categories, but…I just went with what made sense to me!

Reading, Writing, & Storytelling

1. Audiobooks
2. Interactive Story Apps
3. Independent Reading Time
4. Story Read-Alouds
5. Write a Story
6. Write a Letter to a Pen Pal
7. Listen to a Podcast
8. Do writing prompts
9. Conversation Cards
10. Start an Independent Research Project
11. Create an Informational Slideshow

Creative Arts & Crafts

12. Coloring Pages
13. Collage Making
14. Paint By Numbers
15. Watercolor
16. Do a Tutorial from an Art Video on YouTube
17. Photography
18. Create a Board game
19. Write a Song
20. Create a Comic Strip
21. Learn Origami
22. Learn how to Sew
23. Make Friendship Bracelets
24. Make Paper Plate Crafts
25. Make Salt Dough Ornaments
26. Make Bead Jewelry
27. Make a Paper Chain to Count Down to an Event or Holiday
28. Play with sculpting dough (try making your own edible dough!)

Educational Videos & Documentaries

29. Nature Documentaries
30. Historical Films & Documentaries
31. Science Videos
32. Animated Educational Series
33. Geographical Videos
34. Cooking Shows & Documentaries
35. Virtual Field Trips
36. Documentary about a Music Genre or Band/Artist

Puzzles & Brain Games

37. Word Searches
38. Crossword Puzzles
39. Scavenger Hunts
40. Soduku Puzzles
41. Memory Cards & Games
42. Board Games
43. Flash Cards
44. Mazes
45. Dot to Dot
46. Code-Breaking Puzzles
47. Printable Escape Room

Hands-On Learning

48. Build with LEGO bricks
49. Wooden Blocks
50. Magnetic Blocks
51. Model Kits
52. Simple Science Kits
53. Play an Instrument
54. Go for a Nature Walk (weather & sickness level-permitting!)
55. Make a New-to-You Recipe
56. Follow Exercise Videos
57. Create a New Sports Game
58. Learn American Sign Language

Digital Learning Tools

59. Typing Practice
60. Learn about Coding
61. Take an Online Course
62. Learn a New-to-You Spoken Language Online
63. Learn How to Create Stop Motion Videos
64. Play Online Math Games
65. Play Games on a Tablet
66. Play Video Games (don’t come at me lol)
67. Learn how to Make Digital Designs

Benefits of Taking Homeschool Sick Days

The decision to take a homeschool sick day is totally up to you. I know some prefer to plow through sickness in an effort to “get work done,” but it’s also important to value mental health and a strong (and healthy) immune system.

When taking a sick day, please don’t be worried about falling behind. Don’t worry about missing out on lessons. Don’t worry that you’re somehow failing your kids.

With homeschooling, learning is happening all the time. Just because something’s come up that wasn’t included in your homeschool plans, it doesn’t mean anything negative. The kids will still learn! If anything, they’ll be learning important life lessons like:

• respecting their body and mental health enough to take a break
• how to be helpful when someone’s not feeling well
• being flexible with a schedule

The benefits of taking homeschool sick days really go beyond the end result of feeling better.

Get Well Soon!

While I’m thrilled that my resource is able to come in handy for you, I do hope that whoever was sick feels better soon! It’s really no fun to be sick, especially when there are fun field trips to go on, places to explore, and friends to see!

Like I said before, be sure to save this article (consider pinning it to Pinterest!) so you can refer back to it whenever you need some quick, low-energy, easy activities for the kids to do.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy quality time with your family,