Here’s NITA’S FIRST SIGNS, presented in American Sign Language, as part of #OperationASLStorytime and hosted by D-PAN.TV: The Sign Language Channel.
(English captioning coming soon for the signing impaired.)
There are SO many wonderful ASL story videos in this collection. Don’t miss my very favorite one: a retelling of PETE’S A PIZZA by William Steig in ASL, English voiceover, and dramatic pizza play.
Today I’m featuring a guest post from Dawn Babb Prochovnic, author of the excellent Story Time with Signs and Rhymes series (more about that here), about her upcoming releases and some exciting ways to use them in storytime!
Take it away, Dawn!
Hello Readers and Signers!
Kathy was kind enough to invite me to write a guest post on her blog to celebrate the upcoming release of my two latest picture books: Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? and Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? These new books are geared for young readers ages 3-8, but they will appeal to potty humorists of all ages.
Although these new books don’t incorporate sign language like my Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series, in my experience, most books can be enriched with sign language with just a little bit of advanced planning. For example, I recently developed a detailed sign language story time lesson plan for folks who are interested in some comic relief while toilet training. You can find that lesson plan here.
That said, these new books are more aptly categorized as potty-humor books, vs. potty-training books. Given that I’ve taught Sing and Sign workshops for the past twenty years, music and sign language are infused in just about everything I do. Over the past couple of months, I had the unique opportunity to work with two different musicians to create a children’s song for each of my new books. I couldn’t be more pleased with how they turned out.
For the Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? song, I worked with singer, songwriter and performing musician, Marshall Mitchell.
You can listen to our song here.
Kids of all ages love to sing and sign AND they love to laugh. Singing and signing along with the Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? song creates a perfect opportunity to incorporate all three of these fun activities.
I’ve included the song lyrics for Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? below, noting in bold some of the words you might consider signing along with. TIP: Don’t feel pressured to sign more words than you are comfortable with. It’s perfectly okay to start by signing only one or two key words, (for example, WHERE or POTTY) that repeat throughout the song. As your American Sign Language vocabulary (and your confidence) develops and grows, you can add more signs each time you sing. Rest assured, kids are likely to ask you to repeat the song again and again!
Here are the lyrics:
Lyrics by Marshall Mitchell and Dawn Prochovnic; Music written and performed by Marshall Mitchell
When she’s exploring nature…out west.
And her belly starts to feel somewhat distressed.
Out in the canyon or the brush…when she feels the need to rush.
Where does a cowgirl go potty?
When she’s out there on the wide and open range.
And her tummy starts to feel a little strange.
Because waiting is the worst…she thinks she just may burst.
Where does a cowgirl go potty?
Now she can’t go just anywhere…’Cause other folks go potty there.
She’ll find a place and then…it’s just beyond the next bend.
She knew it when she saw…then gave a big, “Yee-Haw!”
This is where a cowgirl goes potty.
Now, this is where a cowgirl goes potty.
Here are links to some reputable video-based resources for the bolded American Sign Language vocabulary , along with some brief reminder notes to help jog your memory as you are learning the signs:
As I mentioned above, I worked with singer, songwriter and performing musician, Marshall Mitchell for the Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty? song. Marshall Mitchell is a frequent performer at schools and libraries around the country. He recently performed dozens of fun, educational shows for a variety of library summer reading programs. You can see snippets of his work here.
The story of how I met and developed a friendship with Marshall is here.
If you’re interested in bringing Marshall to your learning community, you can contact his booking agent here.
Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog, Kathy! I hope your readers have as much fun singing and signing along with this silly song as I had working on the lyrics and collaborating with Marshall Mitchell.
For those who can’t get enough of the song, keep an eye on my social media accounts about the release of the book trailer for Where Does A Cowgirl Go Potty? It’s in production now, and will be available to view, soon! Also, I’ll soon be making announcements about the song and book trailer for Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? ARRR!
Want an Advance Release copy of Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?Comment below, and/or share this post on social media, and tag @KathysQuill (FB and Twitter) and @DawnProchovnicAuthor (FB) / @DawnProchovnic (Twitter) for chances to win. I have two advanced copies along with classroom sets of bookmarks to share. I’ll give them away sometime next week!
Dawn Babb Prochovnic is the author of Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?; Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?; First Day Jitters, featured in the award-winning book, Oregon Reads Aloud; and 16 books in the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes Series, including one title that was selected as an Oregon Book Awards finalist. Dawn is a vocal advocate for school and public libraries and was honored as a 2015 Oregon Library Supporter of the Year by the Oregon Library Association. She is a frequent presenter at schools, libraries and educational conferences, and the founder of SmallTalk Learning, which provides American Sign Language and early literacy education. Dawn loves to travel and has visited thousands of potties across the Pacific Northwest and around the world. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, two kids, two cats, and a feisty dog. Learn more at http://www.dawnprochovnic.com or find her on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
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!
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 from the Deaf Camps, Inc. Online Bookstore (autographed copies that support a great cause!) | amazon.com | barnesandnoble.com | indiebound.org or ask for it at your local library!
These excellent videos are perfect for both Deaf and hearing families! Native signers Missy Keast and Manny Hernandez appear in front of the pictures and English text, telling the story on each page in American Sign Language. Weston Woods, long known for its high-quality visual adaptations of picture books, applies its signature style to these DVDs, making them fully accessible for both Deaf audiences and hearing non-signers. Each DVD also features:
Titles available in this series:
Big Al by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Yoshi: Big Al is large and scary-looking , so the little fish are afraid of him.Then he gets to prove what a good friend he can be!
Blue Burt and Wiggles by Derek Anderson: An unusual friendship develops between a bird and a worm, showing how common concerns lead to unusual friendships.
A Creature Was Stirring by Carter Goodrich: A little boy says that, despite what everyone thinks, he was the only creature stirring in the house that Christmas Eve.
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow: As soon as they say goodnight to Mama, five little monkeys start to jump on their bed. But trouble lies ahead.
Gladys Goes Out to Lunch by Derek Anderson: One day Gladys smells something delicious and leaves the zoo to find out what it is…and the adventure begins.
Little Quack by Lauren Thompson: Splish! Splash! Splosh! Can Little Quack find the courage to join his brothers and sisters in the pond?
A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman: Corduroy, a lovable stuffed bear, gets lost. After an all-night adventure he is rescued by his owner.
There’s Something in My Attic by Mercer Mayer: A brave little girl captures a ngihtmare to show her parents that there really is something in the attic.
If you are interested in signing with children, don’t miss ASL Nook! Featuring Deaf adults Sheena McFeely and Manny Johnson, and two absolutely adorable little girls named Shaylee and Ivy, each short ASL Nook video features a theme, from school signs to patriotic signs to animal signs. But instead of just the here’s-the-picture, here’s-the-sign approach that so many videos use, ASL Nook presents language in context, showing the adults and children interacting. Funny, entertaining, and completely accessible to both hearing and Deaf audiences, ASL Nook is a game-changer in the world of signing with children. You can subscribe to receive updates when new videos are posted, or you can catch the videos on the website, or you can follow ASL Nook on Facebook. But whatever you do, don’t miss out!
Direct Link: https://youtu.be/YCT3FEC-ZY4
Begin by teaching the ASL signs TREE and BIRD. Explain that in this rhyme, you will be learning about a specific kind of bird called a woodpecker, and will be using the signs to show how the woodpecker uses the tree.
Woodpecker, woodpecker, time to eat! (sign BIRD)
Woodpecker, woodpecker, fly to the tree. (sign TREE with your other hand and move the BIRD to your forearm)
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap! (make the bird’s beak tap quickly on your forearm, which represents the tree trunk)
Now eat up the bugs you found, just like that. (move fingers to show beak eating bugs)
Woodpecker, woodpecker, time to sleep! (sign BIRD)
Woodpecker, woodpecker, fly to the tree. (sign TREE with your other hand and move the BIRD to your forearm)
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap! (make the bird’s beak tap quickly on your forearm, which represents the tree trunk)
Now nestle in the hole you made, cozy as can be! (nestle bird in palm of hand)
Find lots more great storytime activities in More Storytime Magic, the latest volume in the Storytime Magic series!
“Isn’t it too late to start signing with my child?”
“If I can’t learn lots of signs, it’s not worth doing at all.”
“My child’s not signing back yet – I should just give up.”
False, false, and false.
Despite the spread of information about signing with young children, there are still lots of myths out there. Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C. debunks five of the most common in her great post on the Signing Time website: Click here to read “5 Myths About Signing With Your Child” – and spread the word!
Over the years I have made no secret of my disappointment with a certain high-profile, slickly produced series of glossy board boards about signing with young children that completely disrespect American Sign Language and its users by mingling made-up gestures with actual signs and not indicating which is which.
That’s why I am so glad that the Baby Fingers series by Lora Heller (Sterling Publishing Company) exists! This board book series combines adorable photos of young children signing with instructions for basic ASL signs that parents and children can use every day to make communication easier, reduce frustration, and increase bonding. With topics ranging from feelings to signs to use throughout the day, this series proves that sign language board books can be both adorable and accurate.
Stories by Hand with Kathy MacMillan 