New ASL baby book!

A new ASL pop up book is available!

Hold on to your hats!! A brand new baby sign book is out. It is called :Everyday Signs for the Newborn Baby by Katarzyna Adilman (Illustrator) , Tanya Kuza, Katarzyna Adilman (Illustrator) . It is available at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ . This is a must have. The illustrations are clear and lovely. It is a pop up book and we know how children just love pop ups!

It is made of very durable hard board and the pop ups show the action of the sign. In addition to the material and lay out, the signs are perfect. I especially love the very first sign in the book. It's "precious". Now just what does every grandparent and mom and dad say over and over again as they view the new little one? Yes! Of course! We say "Oh! How precious!"

This shows such thought and care and love! There are practical signs as well, such as: 'milk' and 'eat' and 'drink'. The feeling of the book is one of great care and love. You will appreciate this book as much as you will learn from it.

As a teaching tool, it is a great way to open the door to the rich and beautiful world of American Sign Language (ASL) and to show that it is a vibrant and flowing language. It is not a complete book of all the signs one will need to communicate but just a great beginning book.

I think it's a must have and one that I hope all doting aunts, uncles, grandparents rush right out and buy!

for it, visit:
www.BarnesandNoble.com

Multiple Intelligence Model and Baby Sign (ASL)

Educators know of the Multiple Intelligneces model. In it a professor of Education at Harvard University, Howard Garder found that the traditional notion of intelligence based soley on IQ testing is far too limited. He found that we all have to some degree the following intelligences, which can be measured. They are:

*Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"):
*Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")
* Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")
*Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")
*Musical intelligence ("music smart")
* Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")
* Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")
* Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

Baby signs have been noted as the perfect way to supplement any preschool curruciulum because it can be used with all of the multiple intelligences. In linguistic intelligence you always speak while making specific signs so students are being exposed to two different learning modes for one word.

With logic-mathematical, children can see a pattern of language and how it forms. Musical; you can add signs to common music or rhymes that the children already know. Bodily - kinesthetic; our hands are moving to make the signs so children can feel the words or letters.

In spatial learning, the child can see the sign being made. Interpersonal; the childcan sign with a group, parent or teacher. Finally, with intrapersoanl learning the child can also sign when on his/her own when reading sotries.

Researcher Penelope Leach ( Leach, 1990) said, "The more language they ( young children) have, the faster thinking will progress. The more thinking they are doing, the more language they will use. So language and thought even language and intelligence are intimately entangled."

Dr. Daniels and research

Dr. Marilyn Daniels is a leading researcher in the area of Baby Sign and language. She is a professor of speech communication at Penn State University. She has published many articles and books. Her most famous booksin the area are Dancing with Words, and Benedictine Roots in the Development of Deaf Education.

In a recent article in the WFD News magazine for the World Federation of the Deaf, she explains the many and varied benefits of ASL as a language and of the use of it's vocabulary. First she explains that since ASL is a legitimate and complete, language, it is to be used in teaching babies and young children and not 'home signs' or made up signs. Because it is a language a child's brain reacts to it in that way and stores it as a language.

She further notes:

ASL uses eyes to a greater extent than spoken language and eyes develop sooner in young children.

• Using the eyes help develop the right brain.
• Languages are stored in the left but, when babies use sign they use the left and right brain.

Motor areas develop sooner in young children so that

• it is easier for children to learn and remember signs than spoken words
• they pay more attention to the movement and become more involved

Using sign language in infancy through sixth grade improves literacy.

• children who learn sign spell better and
• have larger vocabularies

Further she takes exception to the notion that Deaf children should not be taught sign. She states that: "All human beings need a language for communication, but they also need a language for thinking, for processing information. Speech and language are two very different things. Deaf babies need sign language; it is their natural language and it should be taught before they are taught English or Swedish."

Please see the complete article at www.handspeak.com

Back by Popular Demand

The last Baby Sign class offered by Washtenaw Intermediate Schools was not enough! Therapists, teachers, administrators and preschool providers have asked for more. So on January 17 there will be one more session.

At the last session, there was a brief review of American Sign Language and then basic classroom signs were taught and an overview of some different ways to incorporate sign language into the preschool or early childhood day.

Then, the groups worked on making some lessons of their own with books, songs, or rhymes familiar to them and their areas of expertise. A page of ASL signs pertaining to a particular book, like Eric Carle's "Brown Bear", or story like "The Gingerbread man" or "Old Mc Donald" was given to each group and the two presenters wandered from group to group to check on sign production and answer questions.

The time flew by and the fabulous ideas that were generated by each group was phenomenal! There was not enough time for each group to do more than just present quickly, their ideas, signs and other creative ideas. What creative ideas each group had!

So, the groups want more. They want more lessons, more ideas, more signs. The presenters have agree do this and have asked the participants to send in ideas of daily routines, of books, and songs and rhymes that they would like to have the signs for. The enthusiasm for teaching signs and using signs is infectious.

So, in January and back by popular demand will be a sign workshop based on infants and toddlers. This post will include some lessons and ideas from the most recent and future group assignments. Stay tuned.

songs and more

Songs are a delightful and wonderful activity for infants, toddlers and parents.!! Those with rounds and repeating refrains work wonderfully to teach a sign. The whole song need not be signed just one or more words or phrases that you would like to emphasis. I think of:
The Ants go Marching
The Farmer in the Dell
Mary had a little lamb
This old man
Three blind mice
Three little kittens
Row, row, row your boat.
Twinkle little star
She'll be coming round the mountain
This is the way we laugh and play
If you're happy and you know it.

There are I'm sure, many many more but you get the idea. For example in Mary had a Little Lamb, a parent or educator could decided to just sign 'lamb' and 'white [sign same as] snow' and 'lamb' and 'will go'. It could be extended to 'school' and 'laugh and play'. Or whatever, or how ever many signs you would like to teach, review or use in the lesson.

Using songs as part of a theme is a wonderful way to reinforce the thematic lesson. I once did a six week theme on insects and of course, in it was the Ants go Marching. The kids loved it!

There are so many wonderful CDs out now for children's songs. All of the above songs are very easy to find at any chain book store or through Amazon.com. I also found in my recent research for children songs that they can be down loaded to an Ipod or MP-3 player very inexpensively.

I also found a wonderful site, http://www.nurseryrhymes4u.com/ that has the words for you to print out and the tune of the songs too. It is a terrific site because it also has themes and 'print and do' pages, alphabetical listings of songs, and, it is beautifully done. I think you'll like it.

You will also like the following for the same reasons:
http://www.allkids.co.uk/kids_pages/early_learning.shtml
www.preschoolrainbow.org/preschool-rhymes, www.smart-central.com,http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/index.htm

There are so many but the above also give themes and coloring pages and so much more. To incorporate signing to any of the above just pick the words you want to use and go to 'ASL browser' or 'ASL PRO' and watch the signs until you know them well. Be aware that sometimes one sign does NOT fit all.

For example the sign for 'run' is only for the action of running with your feet. It is not for a machine running, or a the water running or some other act of running but not with feet. Also be aware of some verbs that have directionality. By that I mean that the sign moves in different directions depending on the meaning of the sentence. An example of this is the verb 'give'. This is signed in the direction of the person giving. I give to you you is signed in a different direction than you give to me, or he gives to her.

If you are just signing a few simple nouns like 'dog', and 'sheep' and 'town' this won't be a problem however. Although I do stress that ASL ( American Sign Language) is the preferred method of signing and accurate signing means continuity of learning across all environments, I also want baby sign practitioners to have fun.

So be flexible and be open to new experiences to learn and play with language. Children love to sign and play with their fingers! Songs and more help us to enjoy that play with them.

Creating Reading Language Stories

Ellen Milne has written a paper on "Creating Reading Language Experience Stories to Promote Literacy with Preschool Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in the Classroom and at Home"

I think the idea and creativity are super! These activities are great for any child but especially great for hard of hearing and deaf infants and toddlers.

In it she discusses ways to promote language using the child him/herself as the object of a story book. She suggests that we use a digital camera and an experience the child is familiar with. It could be story time, or riding to the grocery store, going to Grandma's or any activity. Take quick snap shots of the child as he/she gets ready, gets in the car seat and then doing some activities like, turning the pages, riding in the grocery cart, hugging Grandma and then, either paste the photos on paper, copy them onto pages of computer papers or put them into the acetate photo pages of a 'brag/type book'. Allow the photos to 'tell the story' of the experience. Talk about the experience, allow the child to arrange them in sequential order, select colorful paper and remount them, maybe add text under the photos, or number the pages.

She offers that we add text directly relating to the photo on each page and to enlist your child's participation as much as possible. Ask questions such as: Who is this? What is he/she doing? Where is she/he going?

You could name the books such as "Billy likes to play with blocks" or "Amy has puppets". Review the completed pages and make cover pictures or make a cover photos.

Share the books by facing the child and sitting across from them with the book in your lap facing the child. Make sure the child can see the book page, your upper body, and face Or seat the child in small chairs so that you are at the same level. Discuss what your child thinks the book is about. Point out the title of the book and the author reminisce about the experience and making the book.

Use lots of body language and facial expression when reading/signing the story. Use a variety of voices and intonation if appropriate.

Share the books we as many people as possible.

Possible experience books are:

My family Book
We Can Book
Our School Day Book
The Places We'll go Book
Our Cook Book
Going to the Grocery Store Book
Going to the Farm, Zoo, Park, Apple Orchard.... etc....Book
We are Friends Book.
Our Pets Book
Our Halloween Costumes.

Hand and Voices.Fall Edition

Recently, I browsed through the fall editions of "Hands and Voices" and found an article that just made me cry. I usually find interesting things int he newsletter. If is full of workshops, research, parent letters, happenings and products. It is put out by a great organization available to parents of children with hearing loss. It is call Hands and Voices. It is a parent driven, non profit organization which gives unbiased support to families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. They put out an outstanding newsletter and their website is: www.handsandvoices.org.

The support, wisdom and hilarity of parents, for parents is just wonderful. This month, there is a sweet article called, 'Jumping Naked: Texas Toddler Goes Natural'. I saved it to my file because it so eloquently states the challenges and humor in raising a wonderful baby who has a hearing loss. The mother talks about the difficult decisions parents need to make and about her struggle. She says and I quote, "So my husband and I did what was natural for us as a family - we talked, we signed and we tried to ignore all external voices loudly telling us how badly we were screwing our son up, how confused he would be."

This lovely young parent did it all. She tried everything and did what was right and comfortable for her and the end result was that at the age of eighteen months her son brought her to tears. It seems he had just had a bath and she had put him in his crib, dry but naked while she quickly turned down her dinner as the timer buzzed. When she came back, she laughed and said, "What are you doing?" Her beautiful son smiled and spoke. He said, "Jumping naked."

I cry right along with her.

Wise advice - Follow your heart, your gut and laugh........... or cry.