Category Archives: Uncategorized

Recommended Viewing: The Story Presevation Initiative

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Check this out!  The Story Preservation Initiative has teamed with acclaimed Deaf actor and storyteller Ian Sanborn to bring ASL to the stories in its “Learning Lab” archive for K-3. The first 5 are available now!

A white man with a mustache and beard signed FINALLY in ASL. He is wearing a cap and a dark grey shirt and appears against a dark blue background. The captions at the bottom of the screen say :But after a while, the storm began to pass and".

The mission of the Story Preservation Initiative is “to positively impact the lives of K-12 students through the sharing of ideas, the transformative power of story, and the development of educational materials that engage the hearts as well as the minds of young people.” SPI produces original, age-appropriate fiction and nonfiction audio stories coupled with related, hands-on, standards-aligned lesson plans and projects to deepen student engagement for meaningful, real-world relevant learning.

This free online resource is a great tool for families, students, and educators. To access the ASL stories, create your free account here.

Signs of Christmas

Online Resources, Resources for Educators and Librarians, Signing with Young Children, Uncategorized

The holidays are a great time to use signs with kids – whether they’re traveling to see relatives, staying up late for midnight mass, or missing naps, holiday times can bring changes, and signing promotes security amid the chaos.

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Make this ASL holiday wreath by glueing the hands into I-LOVE-YOU signs, numbers to count the days to Christmas, or letters to spell out your name! Find complete directions at http://www.storytimestuff.net.

Check out this video guide to simple Christmas signs from My Smart Hands, presented by a mom and two kids of different ages – it’s a great chance to see how those little hands actually form the signs.

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!