This week the augmentative alternative communication (AAC) activities in our homeschool focused on the words DAY, SORRY, TOGETHER, JOB. I selected these from the PrAACtical AAC August core words list one.  This was a bit harder set of words for Nathaniel and I. All were on a second screen of his app, Speak for Yourself. I was still needing to use the app's search feature to find the words on Wednesday. Thank goodness we only have to navigate two screens to find each word.

When I posted My AAC Immersion Homeschool Kindergarten: Week 2 on Nathaniel's Facebook page, I said something like, "I can't promise these will be weekly..." But then I received a message from Laura in Texas.

Her daughter has complex communication needs and was under served by her public school district last year. Laura is hoping to use the summer to boost her daughter's AAC exposure and use. "Can I buy your curriculum?" she asked. Problem. I don't really have a curriculum. I have made eclectic selections of other people's stuff and supplement it with materials I own or create depending on Nathaniel's needs. Often an idea on how to use a core word in tomorrow's math lesson occurs to me at two in the morning when I'm awake checking on Nathaniel's oxygen levels. I have nothing to sell to Laura.

Last week seemed idyllic compared to how this week felt as I moved through it. We got off to a weird start on Monday due to a mid-morning physical therapy appointment. The appointment went fantastic, but morning appointments derail our day. Monday morning appointments can derail more than a day.

When I planned our kindergarten homeschool schedule, I purposefully put bible, math, phonemic awareness/phonics, occupational therapy/fine motor work, and our augmentative alternative communication (AAC) lessons in the morning. These are my highest priority for Nathaniel right now. I placed enrichment lessons - literature, science and culture, music, and art in the afternoon. For the last few months, I have been gradually moving all our appointments to after lunch. There is a natural break in our day if we spend the morning at home learning and head out after lunch for a PT, OT, speech therapy, or doctor's appointment. If we don't return to school after we get home, the enrichment lessons are easily accomplished after dinner or on the weekend.

I just completed the first week of my twenty-five year homeschooling. That is a sentence I didn't expect to ever write. Our seventh child, Josiah, graduated high school in the spring of 2016, and I anticipated for over a decade that his graduation would end my homeschool teaching. Decisions about our son Nathaniel's education have been a long (mostly kept private) wrestle over the last few years. Perhaps in time I will share more about the small decisions that landed us at last Monday - Nathaniel's first day of Kindergarten in our homeschool. But for today, I just want to share about that first week.

When we decided to homeschool this year, I did not want every piece of our day to be remedial and fixing weaknesses. I wanted to do something that built on Nathaniel's strengths and things we enjoy. His receptive language skills are fantastic. He loves stories. He loves being outside. This intersection is where I am building some fun learning into our day.

"Backyard Visitors" is the name I am giving to our nature study. We are learning about one animal a month through children's literature, crafts, and time outdoors. We are working on core AAC vocabulary. The first critter that we learned about was the firefly.