Studying while on pat leave?

I am considering taking pat leave in the near future and have two questions I'm hoping one of the helpful folks here can answer.

1. My wife's benefits suck and she's considering taking a leave of absence to help watch the baby. So we'd both be off work, but only I'd be claiming any benefits for the majority of the leave. Are there any special considerations for this on my side? (I assume no but want to be sure).

And my main question:

2. Given the extra hands on deck for the baby, I was contemplating taking a few post secondary courses while on Pat leave. I've been taking night courses for a few years and would like to cross a few more courses off. How do classes/academic programs affect benefits?