I’m so excited to share with you this printable guide to using Nita’s First Signs in the classroom or storytime! Check it out for tips and tricks for sharing signs during the story, and following up with other fun ASL activities. Click here or on the picture below to download and print your own copy.
If you’re looking for resources to share American Sign Language with your students or storytime attendees, check out the Little Hands Signing Storytime & Craft Ideas board on Pinterest! It’s where I pin my favorite ideas from around the internet for sharing ASL with kids, and gather links to my own videos showcasing signing rhymes and songs. Check it out!
I’m so excited to share a guest post at Laura Shovan’s Poetry Friday blog post! Laura is a poet and the author of Takedown and The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, and she matches books with great poems when she posts about them on her blog. (Check out the post she did about my young adult novel, Sword and Verse, here.)
For Nita’s First Signs, I was thrilled to introduce readers to a classic of American Sign Language poetry: “Dandelion” by Clayton S. Valli. ASL poetry is composed in ASL and created to be understood in a visual medium, with meter, alliteration, and rhyme expressed in an entirely visual way. Learn more about the poem and enter to win a signed copy of Nita’s First Signs at Laura’s blog.
I’m looking forward to sharing stories, songs, and signs with kids and families this summer at Maryland libraries! Join me for these FREE programs!
Saturday, July 7, 10 AM at the Eldersburg Library (Eldersburg, MD): Little Hands Signing: Summer Signs (for ages birth to 8 with caregiver)
Sunday, July 8, 2 PM at the Rosedale Library (Rosedale, MD): The SIGN-a-long Sing-a-long (for all ages)
Wednesday, July 11, 1:30 PM at the White Marsh Library (White Marsh, MD): The SIGN-a-long Sing-a-long (for all ages)
Thursday, July 12, 11 AM at the Central Library (Denton, MD): The SIGN-a-long Sing-a-long (for all ages)
Sunday, July 15, 2 PM at the Hereford Library (Hereford, MD): The SIGN-a-long Sing-a-long (for all ages)
Friday, July 20, 3 PM at the Towson Library (Towson, MD): The SIGN-a-long Sing-a-long (for all ages)
Monday, July 30, 10:30 AM at the Hyatttsville Library (Hyattsville, MD): Little Hands Signing: Summer Signs (for ages birth to 8 with caregiver)
Saturday, August 11, 10 AM at the Eldersburg Library (Eldersburg, MD): Little Hands Signing: Transportation Signs (for ages birth to 8 with caregiver)
Signed copies of Nita’s First Signs will be available for $15. I’ll also be offering book bundles featuring Nita’s First Signs and Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together, along with an adorable rubber ducky signing I-LOVE-YOU, for just $28. Makes a great baby shower or new baby gift!
Sunday, July 1, 2018 at 10 AM
The Ivy Bookshop, 6080 Falls Rd, Baltimore, Maryland 21209
To preorder your copies (or order signed copies if you can’t attend the event), call (410) 377-2966
I’m looking forward to celebrating the launch of Nita’s First Signs with stories, songs, crafts, snacks, and more! This event will be appropriate for all ages and accessible in American Sign Language and spoken English.
Published by Familius Press!
American Sign Language makes it easy to communicate with your child, and Nita makes it fun! Nita’s First Signs teaches ten essential signs for every parent and child to know, including eat, more, hungry, milk, all done, ball, play, love, please, and thank you. A simple story about Nita and her parents teaches each sign in context, and repetition throughout each story makes them easy to practice. Even better, each page slides open to reveal accurate instructions on how to make each sign, plus tabs on the side of each page make it simple to locate every sign for later reference.
Makes a great baby shower gift!
Order now at amazon.com | barnesandnoble.com | indiebound.org or ask for it at your local library!
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Let’s Talk Family.
Contact: Kate Farrell, Publicist, Familius LLC kfarrell@familius.com
How Do I Sign? Nita, Show Us More!
From using her manners to communicating instead of crying, Nita shows little ones how to communicate with your grown-up.
SANGER, Calif., June 15 2018 – Baby sign language makes it easy to communicate with your child, and Nita makes it fun!
Nita and her parents teach ten essential signs in the context of a fun story, using repetition to encourage learning and to help break communication barriers between parents and preverbal children.
Even better, each page slides open to reveal accurate instructions on how to make each sign. Tabs on the side of each page make it simple to locate every sign for later reference.
Words include:
Written by a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter and teacher whose websites provide bonus tie-in resources, this book is the essential start to your baby’s sign language collection!
About the Author: Kathy MacMillan is a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, writer, teacher, librarian, and storyteller. She is the author of nine books for parents, librarians, and educators, including Little Hands and Big Hands: Children and Adults Signing Together (Huron Street Press, 2013). Her debut young adult novel, Sword and Verse, was published by HarperCollins in January 2016. She has presented American Sign Language storytelling programs for children and families since 2002. Find more resources for signing with young children at her websites, www.storiesbyhand.com and www.storytimestuff.net.
About the Publisher: Familius is a family and parenting media publisher devoted to creating content that helps build strong values and happy families. As a digitally savvy, multi-media publisher, we share our family-driven content in multiple formats, including print, e-books, audio books, videos, articles and apps. Let’s Talk Family. http://www.familius.com
Book Details:
Title: Nita’s First Signs
Author: Kathy MacMillan
Illustrator: Sara Brezzi
ASL/Deaf Culture Advisor: Dr. Barbara Kannapell
Publisher: Familius
Publication: June 15, 2018
Price: $14.99
ISBN: 9781945547676
12 pages; Board book includes tabbed pages that split open to reveal instructions for each sign
*Available beginning June 15, 2018 from bookstores, online booksellers and www.familius.com
