All posts by kathymacmillan

Little Hands and Big Hands Sneak Preview: Taking Turns Bounce

Little Hands Signing, Resources for Educators and Librarians, Resources for Signing with Babies, Signing with Young Children, Uncategorized

Little Hands and Big Hands coverHere’s a fun and engaging bounce rhyme for babies and toddlers from my upcoming book, Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (which you can pre-order here!).

Put your child in your lap and bounce side to side to the rhythm as you say the rhyme.

Taking turns is fun to do

First it’s me (MY-TURN) and then it’s you (YOUR-TURN)

Back and forth and to and fro

MY TURN, YOUR TURN, here we go!

Now let’s do it slowly! (Repeat the rhyme slowly)

Now let’s do it quickly! (Repeat the rhyme quickly)

MY TURN: Tip a sideways L-handshape towards your chest.
MY TURN: Tip a sideways L-handshape towards your chest.
Tip a sideways L-handshape towards the other person.
Tip a sideways L-handshape towards the other person.

A note about the signs: The signs MY-TURN and YOUR-TURN are both wonderful examples of the economy of space and directionality in American Sign Language!  When signing MY-TURN, the palm of the hand should be facing you.  When signing YOUR-TURN, the back of your hand should be facing the person whose turn it is.  You can also show a group of people taking turns by tipping the sign toward each person in turn.

Why it works:

This activity allows your child to experience and internalize language with multiple senses – hearing the words in a rhythmic way, feeling the rhythm as you bounce her along, and seeing the signs.  The back-and-forth nature of the rhyme and the bounce also emphasizes the directionality of the sign, so that when you use it in context, your child will understand it clearly.

See a video tutorial for this bounce here.

Check out Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together for lots more fun ideas to promote early literacy through signing!

Stories By Hand Featured in Baltimore’s Child

Deaf Culture Resources, Stories By Hand in the News, What People Are Saying

BCCover0713

“In her presentations at libraries, child care centers, and schools, storyteller Kathy MacMillan always makes her audience members part of the show, whether it’s getting them to move their hands like butterflies, pretend to dig for treasure, or act like dinosaurs. Incorporating music, costumes, props, and, most importantly, movement, MacMillan’s goal is to keep her audience engaged while providing them with an introduction to American Sign Language (ASL).”

 Read the full article.

Seeing Voices

Deaf Culture Resources, Resources for Educators and Librarians, Resources for Teens and Adults

Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf by Oliver Sacks. New Seeing Voices coverYork: HarperCollins, 1989.

There’s a reason this book is a classic in the field of Deaf Studies: Sacks weaves together history, linguistics, and a deep understanding of culture to create a compelling introduction to American Sign Language and Deaf culture for the uninitiated.

Developmental Milestones in American Sign Language

Online Resources, Resources for Signing with Babies, Signing with Young Children

If you are signing with your baby, sometimes it can be hard to gauge your child’s progress since most language development benchmarks tend to focus on spoken language only.  The Ontario Infant Hearing Program offers comprehensive lists of developmental milestones from birth to 24 months in both sign language and spoken language on its website here.  This is a great tool to help parents and educators learn what to expect from their little signers at various ages!

How to Communicate with Someone who is Deaf

Deaf Culture Resources, Resources for Educators and Librarians, Resources for Elementary Students, Resources for Teens and Adults, ,
  • Don’t assume that every deaf person speechreads. Speechreading is a very difficult skill to master, and many deaf people don’t find it effective beyond common phrases such as “How are you?”
  • Keep your face and lips visible.
  • Maintain eye contact.
  • Make sure the deaf person is looking at you before you speak, sign, or gesture.
  • Speak naturally. Don’t exaggerate your mouth movements or speak too slowly. And don’t shout!
  • Be careful not to stand with your back to a window or other light source – this makes speechreading and getting information from facial expressions difficult.
  • Offer pen and paper to write notes back and forth, but be aware that English is a second language for many deaf people. When writing notes, use short sentences and plain language, and avoid idioms and slang.
  • Repeat the question to make sure you understand.
  • To get the attention of the deaf person, tap his or her shoulder or arm or wave in his or her line of sight.
  • ATTITUDE is the most important thing! Most deaf people will appreciate your efforts to communicate.

Signing with Young Children

Resources for Signing with Babies, Signing with Young Children

Why Do It?

  • Children can learn to sign long before they have the ability to speak. Using sign language with your baby can reduce frustration for both of you. Your baby can tell you exactly what he wants!
  • Children exposed to sign language early in life will not only find it easy to learn ASL later, they will find it easier to learn ANY language later.
  • Early exposure to language may increase I.Q., social skills, and create deeper bonds between parent and child.
  • Sign language is not only good for your baby, it’s fun! And it’s not just for babies either – keep up the learning as your child begins to speak, and you and your child can develop a second language together.

Tips for Signing with Your Child

  • Teach the signs for everyday objects and activities first. Use the objects to reinforce the signs often, until your child begins to sign it back. Remember, they can understand you before they sign it back, so keeping using it.
  • If the child begins to sign back, reward him or her with lots of smiles and hugs and kisses.
  • Be consistent. Make sure you use the same sign each time for the same object.
  • Use your face. 80% of ASL is on your face and body, NOT your hands. The sign “HAPPY” doesn’t mean “happy” unless you’re smiling!
  • Accept your baby’s signing style. Babies won’t always make a sign correctly the first time they sign it, just like they won’t speak a word correctly the first time they speak it. Keep signing it the correct way and your baby will soon learn.
  • Reinforce signs throughout the day to help you both remember them. You can learn signs from books, though videos and live people are usually a lot easier. See the other side of this sheet for great resources to help you both learn.
  • There are lots of places to sign! You can use sign language at home, in the car, at the park, while reading stories. You can also make the signs in different places to help your baby understand. Sometimes sign it on her, on the book, or on yourself.
  • When using signs with your baby, it’s a good idea to use American Sign Language. There’s a big difference between American Sign Language, which is a whole language, and Signed English, which is just a manual code to represent English words. By using ASL, you’re giving your child (and yourself) a chance to learn another language!

Library Signs Resources

Online Resources, Resources for Educators and Librarians

Want to learn some simple signs you can use to make serving Deaf patrons more successful?  Check out these resources!

Practice Videos by Kathy MacMillan on YouTube
Manners Signs
Library Signs 1
Library Signs 2
Library Signs 3

Library Signs Quiz Video

 

Library Signs Quiz Video Answer Sheet


Handouts to go with Practice Videos:
Library Signs (Vocabulary – Video 2)

Library Signs (Sentences – Videos 1 and 3)

Workshop Participants Love Hands-on Learning from Stories By Hand!

What People Are Saying

Here’s a sampling of feedback from workshop evaluations:

“Great intro to ASL! I learned a lot…I hope I can remember it all! Really good insights into Deaf Culture. I could have gone on for another hour. Really great instructor!”

“The hands-on participation and practice was very helpful. Giving us library specific signs and making us practice was valuable.”

“The practical experience and learning about the history helped in understanding the ‘why’s of the language. It was an excellent workshop!”

“I liked that it was geared for our uses on the job. The instructor was very effective.”

“Kathy was very enthusiastic and incorporated many activities. Everything was very helpful!”

“The workshop gave a lot of insight on culture. It’s wonderful to experience Kathy’s enthusiasm!”

“Fun, concise, and a lot of good tips in a short time.”

“The workshop included great advice, demonstrations, resources, practical information, and a variety of techniques to incorporate ASL into programs. I wouldn’t change a thing!”

“I liked the wealth of information and resources provided and discussed. Lots of great, simple ideas to use sign language in storytimes. Having us participate was good – Kathy made us feel comfortable learning signs.”