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.