Signing and Early Childhood Development

Looking for a speaker for your Early Childhood Development conference?  WeeHands founder and author of The Baby Signing Book, Sara Bingham, has spoken at Association for the Education of Young Children conferences in Michigan and Indianapolis as well as a number of parenting events in Ontario.  Her speaking topics include:

Using Sign Language with Babies and Toddlers: An Introduction

Why wait to communicate? Learn about American Sign Language signs, songs and language development strategiesto understand baby’s cues and toddler’s behaviour. Learn the benefits of signing with young children as well as signs, songs and strategies to start with.

Sign Language: Improving Language and Lessening Frustrations
The benefits of using American Sign Language (ASL) with all young children include improved vocabulary development, increased interest in books, improved child/caregiver attachment and fewer challenging behaviors. Learn signs, songs and language development strategies in this fun, functional session. 

Diversity the Fun Way: Creating a Multilingual Classroom Through Sign Language:

Are 80% of signs are mnemonic, pictorial representations of words? Joining sign with English speeds the process of learning English as a second language. Using sign language in the classroom creates an inclusive environment where all children can feel welcome. Learn how to use American Sign Language (ASL) signs in your classroom so that you can bridge multiple languages in one setting. Discussion around the use of signed songs and books in multilingual classrooms is included.

Sign Language for Classroom Management and Smooth Transitions

Want to learn some new techniques to assist in transitions? Come learn how to teach and use sign language to enhance classroom management and have smooth transitions through the use of stories, play, songs, and mnemonics.

Signing and Early Literacy

Research shows that using sign language in an early childhood literacy program increases vocabulary and improves letter and word recognition. This workshop teaches the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet as
well as ASL vocabulary tailored for the preschool environment through the use of age appropriate songs and activities.

Sara Bingham is the founder of WeeHands™ and author of The Baby Signing Book. Wee Hands™ is the world’s leading children’s sign language and language development program for babies, toddler, and preschool children. Sara completed an honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Carleton University. She has also earned an honors post-graduate diploma from Georgian College as a Communicative Disorders Assistant. Invite Sara to your next conference and learn why signing is such an effective tool for supporting language development, phonemic awareness, print knowledge, and even classroom management.