The Ever Changing Schedule

I'm just going to state up front this week didn't go as planned, not at all. Amber was overly symptomatic with both dysautonomia and her EDS and had a recurrence of GI problems that sent us to the GI doctor on Tuesday. Basically that entire day was spent sick at home and then at the doctor. Amber has several tests now scheduled over the next couple of weeks plus a new temporary medication.

Amber did have a good physical therapy session at Children's this week and worked on stabilizing her subluxating hips. Our schedule unfortunately did not allow for time at the gym. Although I did ensure she worked on all of her exercises that can be done in our house without specialized machines, since we don't want her to lose ground gained. 

We adjusted and swapped out lessons all week long trying to keep some semblance of school going. I must say Amber had a great attitude toward lessons despite feeling absolutely horrible and since I was willing to work with her on the choice of subjects, she was willing to give me more effort. She may not have completed what we originally scheduled, but she didn't fall behind in total hours either. So, I'm calling it a successful school week.

History with a little cat.

We're working on several fun review items right now (Home School in the Woods U.S. Elections, The Dragon and the Raven audio drama, and HelpTeaching.com) and they were a huge positive to our week as well as being something new and interesting for Amber to try.  The majority of Amber's lessons this week revolved around them, and thankfully they all counted towards core subjects. Look for those reviews starting in mid-February.

Accomplished this week:

• A whole unit in IEW writing, but no creative writing 
• More of the JA Finance Park lessons. We are on track to finish well before the simulation date
• Multiple days of Civics / government using Home School in the Woods and Crash Course. The remaining piece, Our Living Constitution, arrived finally.
• Part of a Tapestry of Grace history lesson. All that's left is our discussion.
• Out of the house classes, confirmation (and studying for her test), physical therapy, and at-home exercises. 
• Free reading. Three additional young adult level books finished this week.

Creating her custom colored therapy putty, and waiting on the GI doctor.

Our upcoming next few weeks are fairly hectic with numerous extra medical appointments along with our regular activities and therapies. Amber and I sat down Wednesday evening after she had a pre-syncope episode during confirmation class to decide what she realistically will be capable of the next few weeks. The schedule looks so overwhelming until mid/late February. 

We made a list of how far we would like her to be in each subject by mid-February and then divided each subject's lessons into large segments. We've decided to use true block scheduling for a few weeks, instead of the semi-block style we've been testing out. Amber will work on one or perhaps two subjects a day, depending on how much lesson time is available. This will hopefully allow her to keep her focus without worrying how many more subjects need to be completed that day. 

Dinner after co-op, just the two of us because Fred had a work dinner.
Amber in her reading nook - I think she's gotten a little too big for her chair.

Once we are back to our normal weekly appointments, we will re-evaluate how block scheduling worked for Amber. It's hard to guess what Amber's preference will be. Some days she desperately needs the variety of topics, but she also stresses about getting to the next subject. I think in the end we may move to a maximum of three subjects most days and use larger time blocks. That's just my hunch though. For now, we need a way to get her through the stressfully busy next few weeks while still completing some school lessons. 

I've got a sewing project to complete this weekend for a local charity princess dance, and Amber was supposed to have her flute recital except she can't breathe today due to cold symptoms. She has been unable to play the flute at all today, so recital might not happen. Hopefully she clears up and can play as scheduled.

Happy Weekend!

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