Hi Teri,

Welcome to the guitar, and to GuitarTricks! This is a great place to learn!

It's a great idea you have had to give your poor fingertips a little time off to heal, and meanwhile to get to kbnow more about the instrument, and music in general. 

If you want to be practicing the fingering positions of chords or scales, sometimes you can find a piece of cardboard, about the size of an index card, and draw six strings and five frets on it. Cut it and draw it so it pretty much matches up with the dimensions of the first five frets of your own guitar neck.

That way you can hold the card flat-up in you hand, and practice memorizing where the fingertips should go for a variety of chords, chord-changes or scales, without adding any irritation to the fingertips. 

Your COGNITIVE brain can continue to learn, even while your physical fingers need a break from the pressure-aspect.

Be well - Lisa