Great Article on Signing Time Blog

Two little girls make an instant connection – with signs!

This guest blog post is by Jennifer Richards Sanchez and is part of our Making a Difference series.

After the birth of my daughter, Ava-now 20 months old, I was talking with a woman at my work (Becky Sawruck) whose son, Aidan, is hearing impaired. She said that the Signing Time series had made a huge impact on their life and enabled early communication with their son. I think Aiden knew close to two hundred signs by the time he was just two years old.

Read the rest of the article here.

Happy 10 Years!

Signing Time is 10 years old!!

 

Here is a video from Rachel & Emilie (the co-creators).

Article – Many Classroom Uses for Signing Time

Many Classroom Uses for Signing Time

by Anya Gregory

Kearns, Utah

I am both a mother and a teacher. I love using Signing Time in my home and my classroom.

I have found so many uses for Signing Time in my classroom. Volume 13: Welcome To School is a great classroom-management tool. I use this DVD at the beginning of the year. As a teacher, I use many silent cues to communicate with my students so as not to disrupt the classroom atmosphere. These signs help me to communicate directions without ever using my voice.

Early childhood educators are always finding ways to reinforce the alphabet. Volume 5: ABC Signs is a great tool to reinforce classroom curriculum that is already being taught.

Part of the first grade curriculum deals with teaching about a child’s community. Volume 11: My Neighborhood is a great way to help students identify all those things that make up their community.

In first grade, we teach about animals and their habitats. I use Volumes 7, 8, and 9 to reinforce these concepts. They are able to see the animals as well as see some of the animals in their natural habitats. I use Volume 9: The Zoo Train before and after we go on our field trip to the zoo. I have the students identify which animals they see at our zoo.

Another fun way to use Signing Time is through the CDs. Once the students learn the signs I use the CDs during music time. The students love to sing, and the signs create a way for them to be able to add movement.

I love using Signing Time in my classroom. I am not only able to review many concepts but they are a great reward. My students look forward to when they are able to watch Signing Time. I love finding ways to make learning fun and memorable. Signing Time is a great way to create those moments.

Article – Starting Off on the Right Hand

Starting Off on the Right Hand
submitted by Vickie Wood, MEd., NBCT Early Childhood to Young Adult Exceptional Needs Specialist

Back to School can be both exciting and scary for teachers, children and parents alike. Teachers are meeting new students and their families, students and families are meeting new teachers and everyone is hoping to have a wonderful year filled with positive experiences. Using sign language in the classroom is one way to increase positive interactions and set the tone for an upbeat year. By teaching students some easy signs to use in place of or in addition to spoken words I can almost guarantee you will have them eating out of the palm of your hand! Positive benefit #1: Children of all ages love the idea of having a “secret” language. What better way to pique interest and grab attention than by playing up the “secret” aspect? Like having a secret handshake and belonging to a secret club, knowing and using sign language makes kids (and adults too) feel important and special. Positive benefit #2: American Sign Language (ASL) is an actual language, not “made up” signs. Why waste time making up secret signs or symbols when American Sign Language is already available? Sure, it’s not REALLY a “secret” language, but it is fun and easy to learn some basic signs and you just might inspire someone to learn more about ASL and perhaps even pursue it as a second language. Positive benefit #3: Learning a new language is a huge self-esteem booster. Parents and teachers know how good it feels to share knowledge with their children and students. Just think how good kids will feel when they can share their knowledge of ASL with their friends and families. Positive benefit #4: Students can be reminded to control their behavior by using sign language in place of a raised or angry voice. Stop, look, listen, pay attention, sit, be quiet can all be communicated quickly and quietly from close up or far away. These signs are even effective in noisy situations where children can see you but may not be able to hear you. Positive benefit #5: Using sign language to acknowledge good behavior and achievements takes positive reinforcement to a new level and is way cooler than just words. Be sure to use facial expressions and body language to help emphasize the emotions you feel as you sign positive statements like good job, beautiful picture, great sharing, thank you and you’re welcome or as you silently applaud your students efforts using sign language.

Article about Signing Time Founder

‘Team Lucy’ will push 9-year-old with spina bifida in SLC half-marathon
By Bill Oram

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 04/13/2010 04:49:30 PM MDT

Two months ago, Rachel and Aaron Coleman stood in the kitchen of their home in Cottonwood Heights, laying out their plans for the Salt Lake City half-marathon, when a soft voice called out from the living room.

“I want to run a half-marathon,” said their 9-year-old daughter Lucy, who had been reading on the couch. Rachel immediately felt a tug of regret. Lucy suffers from spina bifida and cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

Rachel never told Lucy, but when she and Aaron ran half-marathons in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, she had investigated whether she could push her daughter’s wheelchair. Each time she found it was prohibited.

“No exceptions was what I’d seen,” said Rachel, who hosts “Signing Time,” a

series of DVDs that teaches families American Sign Language. Lucy’s 13-year-old sister, Leah, is deaf.

She and Aaron are determined to find ways to create unique experiences that go beyond their daughters’ disabilities.

The girls ski, play soccer and have ridden horseback. The family hiked Yellowstone last summer, Aaron carrying Lucy down trails to waterfalls, despite rangers saying it was impossible.

“Those are the moments nobody’s there to clap,” Rachel said. “We don’t get a medal; there’s no photographers to memorialize the moment. Those are the moments that we really train for.”

But a half-marathon was a different story. The family who insists all obstacles are self-imposed suddenly faced one it wasn’t sure it could work around.

THERE’s MORE TO THE STORY … See the whole article at … http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_14876094