An Adventure for Corah

Because of Corah’s recent diagnosis, one of the challenges that we faced in the last few months was what to do with Corah for schooling next year. The movements have subsided. Her balance is back. The tics are fewer. She has completed a triathlon (swim, bike, run). She is physically 95%. Emotionally and mentally, she is still 60%. Her decision making skills are less than to be desired. In a normal person, a fire alarm sounding would signal to the person that something is wrong. In her, no response. A bug flies by your face, you swat it away. For her, the bug is attacking her causing her to scream and run wildly to escape. New situations cause panic and excessive anxiety. Changes in plans are emotional road blocks. The thought of sending her to a school full of 6th - 8th graders where they change classes every 45 minutes and do not have one teacher who “knows” them was absolutely terrifying. After speaking to the middle school counselor, we just didn’t get a good vibe on the structure or how her days would be controlled. So our options: We could send her to a county school, where 6th grade is still elementary. We could send her to a private catholic school. Or we could keep her home and educate her ourselves. So after much thought, prayer, counsel and discussion…
Tomorrow is a very exciting day for our household. Tomorrow is the first day of school for us! We are embarking on a new adventure with Corah. We, Ez & I in collaboration with Gma, will start homeschooling. Ever hear of the game show, Are you smarter than a 5th grader?? The answer is NO! We have discovered that the majority of what we (the adults) have learned in elementary school we have long forgotten. Luckily the State of Indiana offers a virtual public school at no-cost to the family. She has to follow traditional school rules, has holidays off, a set of teachers, books and they have to follow her 504 plan (developed for special needs). A teacher provides a plan, grades her work and assigns homework. A teacher is available every day of the week to interact via live lessons if a topic isn’t understood. It will take some practice and a few weeks to get used to. She can do anything! Afterall, she did complete a triathlon less than 3 months after a physical stumbling block.
In preparation for our week, I have devoted all Sunday afternoon to cooking, prepping and freezing meals in attempt to ease our busy week. We made raspberry/blueberry muffins, chocolate oat pancakes, frozen chocolate banana bites, bbq chicken, tomato basil chicken, meatloaf and homemade corndog muffins. I found a great blog that had great recipes to freeze. We have mapped out our meal plan for the week and will be sticking with it to ease dinner time stress.
Books are ready. Computer is ready. Kids are heading to bed. And the parents not far behind.
With Love,
The Logan Brick’s