Learn to Sign "Socks"...the WeeHands Sign of the Week!

Here is this week's free "Sign of the Week" poster:

http://www.weehands.com/images/sotw_socks_weehands.pdf

This week's sign is SOCKS. Show this sign to your little one you are putting socks on them...or when they are taking them off! Say and sign the word SOCKS whenever you see socks in books or in pictures as well.

Baby Signing Time - Review

By Jessica Green

There are many good qualities to this video such as the video involves cartoon characters as well as a real person. It involved real people more than the cartoons but if a child’s attention started to wonder that’s when the cartoons came back on screen. This video had a lot of children making the signs themselves to show how easy it is for children to make signs. I found that this particular video seemed to be for more of an older audience and I think this because the signs where performed by older toddlers.

I liked how the chapters of the video where broken down into groups of objects, so I could find signs that I was looking for, such as the food category where the actress was wearing a bib and teaching food as well as drink signs. I really enjoyed how there was a signing review at the end of the video so I could test myself on the signs that this video had taught me. I learned a lot of new signs from this video as well as a few new songs that I think are very catchy and where easy to learn.

Something I have never seen on a signing video was having a Frequently Asked Questions part in the video, such as why the actress’s fingers are colour coded and getting the answer to your question. Another thing I haven’t seen in signing videos was bloopers at the end of it, which showed me that even professionals can make  mistakes with their signs and signing takes practice.

Jessica Green is an Early Childhood Educator and is currently enrolled in the Communicative Disorders Assistant program at Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario.

Learn & Share the ASL Sign for NIGHT!

Here is this week's free "Sign of the Week" poster! 

This week's sign is NIGHT. Show this sign to your baby when it gets dark out and at bedtime. Sign NIGHT, as well, when reading books, like "Goodnight Moon"! 

Click on the image to the left to download your poster.

Hands On Literacy - Review

By Leah Della Colli

Learning to read does not happen in one day. It involves a long process of learning over many years. The best time for children to start learning to read is when they are very young. Studies have shown that children, who learn sign language at a young age, become better readers and start reading earlier. 

Hands On Literacy by Trish Peterson offers families great tips to making a more literacy-enriched home. Every parent wants their children to be interested in books, however it is easy to make some common mistakes without knowing that your overwhelming your young child. Here is a list of some quick tips to making your home a more accessible reading environment.

Make sure books are age appropriate: Be aware of the books around your house. Read them through yourself. Just because it looks like a children’s book, it’s not always the case. Focus on pages with minimal words and lots of pictures.

Separate books from toys: Your child needs to learn books are not toys. Keep them separate from toy areas or rooms. Keeping them in their room is a good idea, making the bedroom a place to be calm and available to curl up with a good book.

Make reading a part of your daily routine:  Make it a priority to read with your child at least once a day. When starting, don’t choose long books. Keep it short and simple to keep your child engaged. If they are losing interest, end the book short.

Don’t overwhelm your child: Keep a basket in the child’s room with 5 books. One should be their favorite, and the others should be changed every couple of weeks. That way your child doesn’t become overwhelmed by too many choices and can be excited about the new arrivals!

Be a good role model: It is easy to become wrapped up in a world of technology and screens, but it’s important for us all to unplug and unwind. Your child is always watching. Be conscious of reading and writing in front of your child. If they see you enjoying a book, they’ll want to do the same. 

Peterson’s engaging book also provides detailed activities and games for specific age groups that promote literacy while incorporating sign. These activities focus on children ranges 2 through 5 years. Along with the activities are milestones that are usually met at each age group. The activities focus on meeting these milestones and advancing to more challenging ones. 

Literacy enriches children’s lives in countless ways. Reading helps all aspects of communication and opens a world of imagination for your child. Armed with Peterson’s great activities and helpful tips for shaping your home, your young child will be reading and enjoying the world of literacy in no time!

Baby Signing Time - Review

By Tina Lalonde

I put this video on our TV. while my 4 year old was playing quietly in the family room with some toys. I was curious what her reaction to the Baby Signing Time - Let’s Be Friends video might be and did not want to influence her in any way so I said nothing to her before I put it on. As soon as she saw the little babies and young children in the video, she dropped what she was doing and stood in front of the TV! She began trying to sing along and mimic their actions. She was mesmerized!

I really liked how well this video was made.  The incorporation of songs and upbeat music to continually show each sign being made by children helped to keep her interest.  The rapid screen change from child to child, who each performed the target sign, kept my daughter engaged and allowed her plenty of opportunity to practice positioning her fingers until she could be successful.  This video claims to be geared toward children 3 months to 3 years.  My 4 year old loves anything to do with real babies so this video spoke straight to her.  What I found even more amazing than my younger daughters total participation and interest in the video was the interest my 10 year old daughter showed!  She had been playing on the computer but decided to join us by the TV when she saw us having fun.  She enjoyed encouraging her little sister and poking fun at the songs.  Even though she thought she was acting appropriately “cool” she was sitting there, watching the 45 min. video and taking in all the signs.      

The narrator, “Rachel,” came across as animated, enthusiastic and warm.  We all had to laugh out loud when the food section of the video began and Rachel was wearing a big white bib! 

Overall, I found this video to be two thumbs up!! The pace of the signs being presented was good.  There were multiple opportunities to practice each sign along with other children demonstrating them and the vocabulary choices blended well together.  It was a fun way to spend some time together with two of my daughters in the afternoon and a chance to see what we could remember in the evening over dinner.  It was time well spent.

Sign with your Baby!

By Leah Delli Colli

Whether its new parents, caregivers or educators, we all are itching to know what’s going on in infant’s minds. Now more than ever it’s easy to get a snapshot into the meaning behind those laughs, cries or babbles. Sign with your baby by Dr. Joseph Garcia provides viewers with information, motivation, tips, tricks and everything in between to communicating with your infant before they can speak. Through teaching sign language to children, they are able to communicate their needs and wants before the muscles used for speech can catch up to their always-learning minds. This ability to communicate with adults eases caregiver anxiety about knowing why the child is crying, while offering immediate gratification and rewards in mutual understanding.

The instructional DVD allows viewers to know when’s best to start signing, what signs to start with, when to introduce new signs. It also followed families and their journeys and experiences of signing with their young children and the successes they’ve experienced. The DVD left me feeling motivated and confident in introducing sign language to infants. The package also comes with a book which further investigates the countless benefits signing with infants brings to families and educators. The book gives deeper insight into:

·        Understanding the infant’s perspective

·        Answers common questions and concerns

·        Being aware of various types of gazes and how to effectively incorporate sign

·       Vocabulary guide of 100+ signs

As the package states, it is never too late to start signing; sign language can facilitate language at any age. Imagine what a great feeling it would be to see your child crying, and be able to immediately give them a bandaid and a hug because your child was able to sign “hurt” over his/her knee. Sign with your baby makes this idea possible and easy! With patience, repetition and love your child could be asking for ``more juice`` before he/she can even say mom!