The First Day of School that Wasn't...

Yesterday was supposed to be our first day of school.  I had the textbooks all organized and ready to go...

...the pencils all sharpened...

...(yes, I tend to panic at the sight of pink erasers, but the packaging on these assured me that they're latex-free)...

...the lesson plans all done up...

...and the classroom organized and just waiting for us to begin (obviously this room is not one of the ones that we have redone in the house.  It still needs a lot of work.  Those yellow floors are awful!).

Who doesn't LOVE new school supplies?  I get all giddy and crazy when school supplies appear in the store.  Those freshly-sharpened real-wood pencils, don't they just give you goose bumps?  I was raring to go.

Then my 8-year-old came out of bed in the morning, tossed her pillow onto the couch, laid down on it, and said, "I don't feel good."  I thought, ok, she's just all nervous about starting school today (yes, homeschooled kids get that way, too).  But no, by late morning her temperature was up to 100*.  She spent all day laying on the couch watching videos.  So much for the first day of 4th grade.

Then, my 6-year-old (who does most of his core classes right along with his 8-year-old sister) said, "Well, if we can't do Bible, History, Science, and Health, can I not start today, either?"  So much for the first day of 2nd grade.  (Today he has started the sore throat that's the first symptom of this illness.)

Then, after nap time, my 4-year-old started complaining of a sore throat, and she felt warm to the touch.  So much for the first day of Kindergarten.  (Today she has a 103* fever.)

This is one of the benefits of homeschooling, though.  We can pause the school year (or postpone it) instead of the kids just getting farther and farther behind.  We typically do school Tuesday through Saturday, but we can add extra days in on Mondays if we need to.  And the kids aren't worried about having to make up a bunch of work or missing out on something fun.  They can just have movie days and focus on getting better.

Meanwhile, I keep staring at my empty classroom with all of it's fresh, new notebooks just beckoning me to write on one of the stark, clean pages.  But I doubt anyone will be up for school tomorrow.  

Would it be too weird to start school on a Friday?  I really, really want to use one of those pencils...

How was the first day of school for your kids?