Click on the graphics below for more information and registration.
Find out more about booking a private webinar for your group here.
Spring and Summer Webinars for Library Staff and Educators
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Level Up Your Storytimes!
Learn storytime engagement techniques, planning tips, and more to keep kids and families coming back for more!
Storytime Stuff for Beginners
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 1-3 PM Eastern/12-2 PM Central/11 AM-1 PM Mountain/10 AM-12 PM Pacific
Online session via Zoom (2 hour webinar). Includes recording access through May 18, 2024.
It’s a storytime showdown full of fresh ideas, practical tricks, and easy flannelboards, fingerplays, sign language rhymes, and other activities. Learn how to keep your audience’s attention, transition smoothly between activities, and keep kids and parents coming back for more. Certificate of completion available upon request with successful completion of post-test.
Pricing:
- Individual: $75 (includes live webinar and recording access for 30 days after the live event)
- Group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Contact info@storiesbyhand.com for more information.
Storytime Stuff-Advanced
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 from 1-3 PM Eastern/12-2 PM Central/11 AM-1 PM Mountain/10 AM-12 PM Pacific
Online session via Zoom (2-hour webinar). Includes recording access through June 9, 2024.
Been presenting programs for awhile? Refresh your storytime toolbox with fresh ideas, practical tricks, and new flannelboards, fingerplays, sign language rhymes, and other activities. Certificate of completion available upon request with successful completion of post-test.
Pricing:
- Individual: $75 (includes live webinar and recording access for 30 days after the live event)
- Group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Contact info@storiesbyhand.com for more information.
About the Instructor:
Kathy MacMillan is a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, librarian, and storyteller. She is the author of the Little Hands Signing series from Familius Press, Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (Hands Up Press) as well as many other books for children, teens, librarians, and educators. She has trained thousands of library staff members and educators on programming techniques and on how to better serve the Deaf community.
Find out more about booking a private webinar for your group here.
Wonderful Weather Signs
Little Hands Signing Professional Development Webinar: Weather Signs
Wednesday, April 11, 2024
11 AM-12 PM Eastern/10-11 AM Central/9-10 AM Mountain/8-9 AM Pacific
Online session via Zoom (1 hour webinar). Includes recording access for 30 days.
Add some American Sign Language to your storytime toolbox! In this interactive session, we’ll focus on basic ASL vocabulary for weather and related storytime activities. Learn how to incorporate ASL into storytime songs, rhymes, and stories in a respectful and effective way.
Certificate of completion available upon request with successful completion of post-test.
Pricing:
- Individual: $40 (includes live webinar and recording access for 30 days after the live event)
- Group rates available for groups of 10 or more. Contact info@storiesbyhand.com for more information.
- Optional Add-on: Individualized video feedback: $25. Submit a video (up to 10 min) demonstrating your planned signing activities for storytime and receive individualized feedback on sign choices, production, and more from Kathy MacMillan via return video within 14 days. Must be used within 6 months of purchase.
Find out more about booking a private webinar for your group here.
In the Community: Online ASL Classes from the Hearing and Speech Agency
Learn American Sign Language from a Deaf instructor in these online courses from the Hearing and Speech Agency, a highly respected Baltimore non-profit.
Upcoming Class Sessions:
- Summer Session 1: April 14-May 18, 2024
- Summer Session 2: May 26-June 29, 2024
- Fall 2024 Class: September 3-November 11, 2024
1-hour classes meet once a week online (10-week sessions)
Classes Offered:
- Beginning Conversational ASL 1: Tuesdays, 6-8 PM EST OR 7-9 PM EST
- Beginning Conversational ASL 2: Tuesdays, 6-8 PM EST
- Beginning Conversational ASL 3: Thursdays, 6-8 PM EST
- Beginning Conversational ASL 4: Thursdays, 6-8 PM EST
Program offerings featured in “In the Community” posts are not affiliated with Stories by Hand and are shared to spread the word about other ASL learning opportunities.
Come to the DCI Easter Party on March 23!
Bring the whole family for the Deaf Camps, Inc. Easter Party!
Saturday, March 23 from 4-6:30 PM
$7 per person
Christ United Methodist Church of the Deaf, 1040 S Beechfield Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21229
Join us for storytime in ASL and English with 4 children’s book authors, a pancake dinner, and an egg hunt. All ages and signing abilities welcome! All proceeds support Deaf Camps, Inc.’s scholarship program. 
Add some ASL to your springtime storytimes!
Little Hands Signing Professional Development: Spring Signs (1 hour webinar)
Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 2-3 PM Eastern/1-2 PM Central/12-1 PM Mountain/11 AM-12 PM Pacific
Online session via Zoom (1 hour webinar). Includes recording access for 30 days.
Add some American Sign Language to your storytime toolbox! In this interactive session, we’ll focus on basic ASL vocabulary for spring sights and activities. Learn how to incorporate ASL into storytime songs, rhymes, and stories in a respectful and effective way.
Certificate of completion available upon request with successful completion of post-test.
Individual: $40. Discounted group rates and direct invoicing available for groups of 10 or more. Contact info@storiesbyhand.com for details.
Live ASL Practice for Library Staff
Hands Up! Live ASL Practice for Library Staff
Learn & practice American Sign Language for library settings in these interactive webinar series! Each includes recording access through 30 days after the final webinar in the series. Click on the links below for more information and registration.
Intermediate: Tuesdays, March 19 to April 23, 2024, 12-1 PM Eastern/11 AM-12 PM Central/10-11 AM Mountain/9-10 AM Pacific
Review: Tuesdays, May 7 to June 11, 2024, 12-1 PM Eastern/11 AM-12 PM Central/10-11 AM Mountain/9-10 AM Pacific
The next Beginner series will be offered beginning in late May. Want to be notified when registration opens? Email info@storiesbyhand.com to be added to the mailing list!
All upcoming webinars
Purchase recording access to past webinars
Book a private webinar
FAQ: eCourses and Webinars
2-part webinar from ALA: Serving Deaf Patrons in the Library
Serving Deaf Patrons in the Library
A two-part webinar series taking place on Wednesday, April 10 and Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific.
Library services are for everyone, and that includes the deaf community. In this workshop, Kathy MacMillan, librarian and certified American Sign Language interpreter, guides you in making your library a more welcoming place for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing. You will gain an understanding of Deaf culture, learn library-related signs, and become prepared to confidently work with interpreters for your programs.
After participating in this workshop, you will have:
- An understanding of how to meet your library’s legal obligation to serve deaf and hard of hearing patrons
- Strategies for communicating with a deaf or hard of hearing person in the library
- Video demonstrations and handouts for library-related signs, accessible for practice after the workshop
- Tips for finding, hiring, and working with sign language interpreters
- Knowledge of varieties of communication among deaf and hard of hearing people
Kathy MacMillan (she/her) is a writer, nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, librarian, and signing storyteller. She has worked in school and public libraries for over 25 years. She writes fiction and nonfiction for children, teens, and adults, including the Little Hands Signing series from Familius Press and the Storytime Magic series from ALA Editions. She lives in Baltimore, MD. Find her online at KathyMacMillan.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @kathys_quill.
March 2 is Read Captions Across America Day!
March 2 is Read Across America Day – and it’s also Read Captions Across America Day!
Led by the Described and Captioned Media Program, Read Captions Across America (RCAA) is held in conjunction with the National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America event every year on or around March 2.
The purpose of Read Captions Across America is to raise awareness—particularly among children and their parents and teachers—that video-based media can be just as effective at encouraging and fostering reading skills as books, as long as captions are always turned on!
Captions aren’t just for deaf and hard-of-hearing people! Studies show that captions benefit almost everyone, including beginning readers, people with learning disabilities, and English language learners!
Celebrate Read Captions Across American Day with these captioned storytimes with Kathy MacMillan!
The Runaway Shirt Storytime with Kathy MacMillan and art demo with Julia Castaño
Nita’s First Signs/Nita’s Day Storytime with Kathy MacMillan
Let’s learn love & friendship signs this Saturday!
Little Hands Signing: Love and Friendship Signs
Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 11 AM
Mary Riley Styles Public Library, 120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church, VA 22046
Sing, sign, dance, and play with Kathy MacMillan, author of the Little Hands Signing series. Gather the whole family for the fun as we learn American Sign Language vocabulary through stories, songs, and more!
Best for ages 3 and up. Space is limited; first come, first serve.
Stories by Hand 