Blog — Kim Rankin

Jul 6

Jul 6 My AAC Immersion Homeschool Kindergarten: Week 1

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.

Jul 6

Jul 6 July Core Word Activities: Week 1

Kim Rankin

Homeschooling, AAC

We are using PrACCtical AAC's list of core words for our July augmentative and alternative communication work with Nathaniel. My goal is do one fifteen to twenty minute activity per day that allows me to model the words and motivate Nathaniel to use his device and learn new language skills. There are twelve words in the list; that is a lot to take on all at once. I've found success with focusing on four words per week for three weeks and then having the last week of the month to mix it all up and revisit some of our favorite activities. The words we are worked on this week were FIND, COLOR, AND, and LOVE. Nathaniel loves to speak in one word utterances and let his communication partner do the work, but he more than capable of two to three word utterances; longer utterances are emerging. I tend to model between three and five word phrases and sentences. He is becoming aware of pronoun use, present progressive verb endings, and adding a plural s.

Jul 3

Jul 3 Family Based AAC Evaluations

Kim Rankin

A few weeks ago, my nieces visited our home for their annual week of "Camp Rankin." We meet their family at the same park, halfway between our homes, each year to pick up and drop off the girls. Visiting a playground only once a year provides amazing insight into the changes in Nathaniel's physical abilities. In 2015, he kept his feet on solid ground. Walking on the uneven park surface carrying his tube feed in a backpack was challenging enough. In 2016, he was comfortable walking up a ramp to the lowest play area. His aunt and cousin were watchful spotters to his emerging climbing skills in 2017. This year it was hard for any of us to keep up.

Mar 26

Mar 26 AAC Vocabulary in Nature Learning: Turtles

Kim Rankin

Feb 27

Feb 27 For My Mom's Memorial Service

Kim Rankin

The first word that comes to mind when I think of my mom is creative. She showed her love by making you something. After high school she worked at a fabric store. Sewing remained a life long enjoyment. When I was in high school she made every dress I wore to a dance. There was a plaid skirt and powder blue spaghetti strap silky top for my freshman year. A pink satin with fitted bodice and 1980’s puffy sleeves for my senior prom. I loved those outfits. But Mom didn’t do zippers or button holes.

Nov 24

Nov 24 Happy Fifth Birthday Nathaniel

Kim Rankin

We celebrated Nathaniel's birthday a few weeks ago; early because his actual birthday falls on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Five seems magical and unbelievable. It seems to have happened overnight, and at the same time like he has experienced too much to still be so young. A few hours before his party, Josiah took him to the back yard to take some photos. They too are magical. They show clearly Nathaniel's wonder and joy for living.

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