sign: JUMP What's the Sign... Wednesday! 2/29/11

You asked and we delivered!

What's the Sign Wednesday going strong!

And, we thought the same sign - how ironic! We had a few options already today so we're going to take both, making one today and one for next week. Today's sign is JUMP. Next week's is HOMEWORK (see stay tuned).

Thank you to Candice from The Dance Lab in Moorestown, NJ for reading my mind. That was my exact idea! I was thinking - I wished Leap Day didn't occur on "What's the sign Wednesdays" so I could post a sign for this very special day! How often does it happen?! (Leap year that is)

So we're JUMPING into March with the sign JUMP.

Candice desires to use the sign JUMP for her dance classes.

How can you use the sign?

- How about in the classroom when you're putting together morning groups. Get the kids up and moving to wake up those minds!

- Or how about outside playing hotscotch or jump rope.

- Or play 'Simon Says' using action words like WALK (in place), JUMP up and down, and so on.

Sign: JUMP

compliments of Sign2Me
JUMP: nondominant hand flat palm up. Dominant hand
makes an upside down V and the two fingers bounce up and down
when touching the open palm like they are jumping. JUMP

Happy Leap Day everyone!

Stay tuned for next week's "What's the Sign Wednesday?" sign HOMEWORK. And Thank You to everyone participating. We're glad to see everyone enjoying "What's the Sign Wednesday".

What's the Sign Wednesday

It's Wednesday!

What sign are you looking for today? Leave us a comment here or on our Facebook wall.

Get Ready - What's the Sign Wednesday! tomorrow

What's the Sign Wednesday's tomorrow!

Get ready! What sign are you looking for!? 

We love being able to help!

Tell us, what sign are you looking for? 

Comment below to let us know how we can help.

sign: WATCH. Lil WATCHING Signing Time!

Here's our living proof that Lil loves WATCHING Signing Time! If you look closely you'll see Reilly (the dog) WATCHING as well! hehe! (People say I have the only dog who loves tv like him and I should email The Ellen Show about it! haha!)


Anyway, Lil WATCHING different DVDs each day either at our house during the weekend or at the sitter during the week. So unfortunately I don't get to WATCH the movies with her often because I don't promote tons of TV time and she WATCHES it at the babysitters so I don't turn it on during the week.


Another way to use WATCH: "WATCH me" 
Not "watch" - the clock-like jewelry you wear on your wrist! (That's a different sign)


Sign: WATCH
(I created it in a two-parter)

 

Perhaps it's hard to tell how to sign this sign, but unfortunately I didn't agree with the signs found on Super Duper, Inc. or other resources. The sign TO WATCH is the handshape you see being performed, right below the eye (on the cheek bone will-have-you). The sign moves forwards away from the eye. TO WATCH, which I always teach my students is different then TO SEE. 

sign: ALL DONE! Lil's ALL DONE formula!

It's official - she's a big girl! No more formula and now wheening off the bottle. My my... where has the time flown! She is ALL DONE formula. She adjusted very well. It actually didn't phase her (go figure and I was the one stressed).

ALL DONE!

compliments of Sign2Me

The Sign ALL DONE/FINISHED is used in a lot of instances. You can saying "When  you're ALL DONE your homework, you can play with outside" or "ALL DONE" (meaning all the food is off the high chair").

When do you use ALL DONE?

sign PURSE. Thirty-One product review

Product Review!

Today I have a great product review of my awesome Thirty-One bags! I was just recently introduced to Thirty-One - right around the time I started this site. I bought two utility bags, one small, one large. And look (below)! These bags have well paid for themselves. 


My small one is used for Little Finger's diaper supplies on her dresser next to her changing pad. This is great because now she can't have as easy access to all those supplies and I'm less likely to be picking them up off the floor. No more signing NO on the changing pad! .. well at least in reference to her trying to get all of her lotions and creams.


My large utility bag was a no brainer! I immediately filled it with all my therapy tools and toys for my daily travels with early intervention. My husband always asks me to clean my car and now I did!

Then Nikki from Peace, Love, and Purses reached out to me. Now I'm hooked! I have my HearMyHands utility bag I use in classes! The awesome side pockets I use for food, water bottles, and props for class. It's very sturdy, but yet very stylish. I can't wait for my next bag!


I was so excited about these new products that I wanted to have an online party to share my excitement with you. And luck be hold - there's a great deal this month! Buy $31, get 31% off of another product (any product!). Nikki's great to work with and answers my emails quickly. I was very unfamiliar with Thirty-One and she helped me understand their customization abilities and styles.


Check out this link to enjoy the party!

See her diaper caddy - works well!

sign: PURSE / HAND BAG

Don't forget to check out the link! I love to be organized, less cleaning means more time to spend with Lil!

sign: READ Read Across America Week

This week is Read Across America!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

What books are you reading to your children this week? Little Fingers loves the Gallop book she got for my baby shower. My husband picked it out and insisted on putting it on the registry.

I remember thinking - who puts books on their registry!?

Now - she won't put it down when she's on the changing table. She loves the book! That makes me a happy mommy. Lil turns one in just a few short weeks ... my goal is to replace the nightly bottle with a nightly book! I shall let you know how that goes for sure.

compliments of Super Duper, Inc..
Again I don't endorse Super Duper, Inc.
I don't promote their style of signing.
But sometimes their signs work in my favor. The sign: READ the two fingers should
be closer to your face as they act like your eyes. Hence, your eyes are doing
the reading. the other open palm hand is the book. READ.

Don't forget to read our BOOK post about how to incorporate signs into reading!

sign: PROUD. What's the sign Wednesday plus a Bonus

What's the Sign Wednesday! 2/22/12

Thank you Candice from The Dance Lab asked for GOOD JOB or I'm PROUD of you. I decided to do a little extra treat and video both! Below you can find the sign for PROUD.


Thanks Candice! Great request! I use GOOD JOB all the time. (Side note: sign JOB is the same as WORK, just a nice side note. So if you're talk about your job/employment, or if you are telling students or children to do their WORK).

compliments of Super Duper, Inc.

Get ready for What's the Sign Wednesday!

What's the Sign Wednesday's tomorrow!

Get ready! What sign are you looking for!?

We're so new at this we skipped a week but we love being able to help.

Tell us, what sign are you looking for?

Sign: FAT TUESDAY!

Happy FAT TUESDAY! for those who celebrate.

I don't celebrate FAT TUESDAY especially being a new mommy but I'm glad this Tuesday Little Fingers is just eating! That's what I think of today on FAT TUESDAY! We're venturing back into foods after having a long weekend of not eating because of the croup and ear infection... so yes, Happy FAT TUESDAY to us too! 


When she's older I look forward to the crafts that I currently do with my kids in therapy; but for now I'll just say Happy FAT TUESDAY to you! Hope you have a good last hurray before Lent for those who practice.

Sign: Presidents Day!

Happy Presidents Day! 

We had to work here at HearMyHands, but it's ok. We hope everyone who had off had a great day, those who had the snow in the south enjoyed it, and those who had to work at least had an easy day! :)

sign: DOG

Lil loves the DOG, but he loves her just as much right back at her. 


I'm feeling bad - I think she's getting confused everytime I scold the dog, "Reilly no!" ... she looks up! The poor girl can't catch a break. When she plays, he thinks she's playing with him, and he's always nibbling (love-nibbles but nibbling none the less).  Maybe I should start signing NO and STOP to him too, what do you think?! He does surely love her though. The most hilarious thing is when he chases his tail, she laughs hysterically! Too cute. Too funny!

Sign: DOG
Pat on the thigh & snap your fingers

sign: TWO for Lil's first TWO steps!

So Lil's been standing now for a few weeks now and TWO Sunday mornings (during my morning to sleep in!) my husband came into our bedroom exclaiming "Lil walked, get up, come see!" Well she hasn't replicated it yet but she took her first TWO steps for daddy! I'm very happy for him that he got to experience that :)


So our sign of the day: TWO in honor of Lil's first two steps! We're sure she'll be walking before her first birthday (a few weeks!)

sign ENJOY! Product Review: Label & Learn Basic Signs App

Label & Learn just came out with their own ABCs Basic sign ASL app a few weeks ago. It's cute app with their mascot, Charlie Chimp. This app was created by Katey Blehm, M.A., CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist and mother of two little signers!



The app provides:

• flashcards
• quiz for reinforce the signs learned
• positive reinforcement

It's this reviewer's opinion that the app isn't for the young toddler ages because they may not be developmentally ready to retain the ABCs and their fine motor is not fine tuned enough typically for fingerspelling (meaning sign the alphabet). But older toddlers and children will surely enjoy it!


This app is a cute quick glimpse of what Label and Learn has to offer. They are in the mix of creating another app more appropriate for everyone to learn and enjoy.  Their new app will be animated - how cool!


They have some great products we're proud to promote and have sold over the past few years. They created some awesome labels to help reinforce signs through a child's day at home and school. They also have cute bibs, shirts and handy placemats! Check out our online store!

Go Check out Charlie Chimp Signing App in iTunes now!

Happy VALENTINE's Day everyone!

We just wanted to say Happy VALENTINE's Day everyone! We hope you can spend this day with your loved ones both family and friends. 

sign: MOMMY

As I mentioned before in my previous post about how we use sign in our daily lives (Click here!) - one of the signs I started using while we are playing is MOMMY when I talk about who Lil is playing with. 


I am starting to use it on other settings to when I am referencing myself. I use it when I'm changing her diaper ("MOMMY's changing your diaper, diaper, diaper, MOMMY's changing your diaper, da-da-de-da-da"). Hey - what can I say, I make everything into a song!


When do you think you could use MOMMY?

Compliments of Sign2Me

Yesterday was a big day for my MOM too! 

We threw her a surprise birthday party! 

So yes that would be Lil's MOM MOM (remember that sign from before! Here!). 

Happy Birthday MOM!

sign: COLD

It's winter here in the greater North East (as the weathermen say) ... it's pretty cold! But we love it! Lil doesn't seem to mind. She smiles when we sign COLD "brr"! We're very fortunate she let's us bundle her up. There was a time when she wasn't a fan of being bundled! We're loving the snow today and hoping it'll keep accumulating so we can go outside and play! 

Compliments of Sign2Me

**Extra tip** the sign for COLD is the same as the sign for WINTER :)

Stay tuned for this week's snowman craft! (We're hopeful we'll still have snow!)

sign: PICTURE! BH Photography Contest Starts Now!

Bonus sign today! PICTURE!

We are having a great contest starting tonight (Friday, February 10th @ 7pm) and ending Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 @ 7pm. ... We giving away a free mini-photo shoot session with BH Photography in Delran, NJ for a Easter or spring photo shoot! You have to go check out her Facebook page and see her great photography! You won't be disappointed! We just had Little Finger's mini-Valentine's Day photo shoot! So adorable! Don't have any children? This would be a great gift for someone else too!


 Simply: 

• 'like' our Facebook page - HearMyHands
• 'like' BH Photography's page
• comment under this photo on our Facebook: "Signing into Spring!"

The winner will be picked using www.random.org Wednesday at 7pm. You must 'like' both Facebook pages and be able to get to BH Photography in Delran, NJ to be eligible.

Sign: PICTURE 

(This is a two-part sign [one on the left, part two on the right]. Make a C handshape to your cheek and bring it down to your non-dominant hand.)

sign: BUTTERFLY. Check Out our Valentine's BUTTERFLY Craft!

Compliments of Melomomma! We are going to put our own spin on this great craft idea! I'm always looking for crafts to do with my little kiddos I work with and here it one. See how I incorporate sign with this craft!!  Read the whole thing and you may find extra signs!

What MeloMomma says you will need:

compliments of Sign2Me

Toilet paper roll
red and PINK Construction paper
Glue
Tape
Scissors
Pipe Cleaner
Black Marker
Glitter

Directions: 

1.  Cut the pink paper the size to cover the toilet paper roll.

2. Cover the toilet paper roll with pink paper. (I found that glue sticks
don't necessarily work well with this!) so .. (check #3)

3. Secure it with tape!

3. Cut out a red heart for your Butterfly wings.

4. Tape it to the back of the toilet paper roll.

5. Cut out five small PINK hearts. 

6. Glue 4 onto the wings for a design. 

7. Glue one on for the face. 

8. Draw the face with a black marker.

*Decorate with glitter for more glam.

Thanks again Melo Momma. Now If you are a little more skilled in sign, perhaps you could also sign RED, CUT, and the numbers ONE and FIVE while reading the directions out loud to your children (or student).

Sign: BUTTERFLY (don't worry I didn't forget!)

compliments of Sign2Me

Enjoy!

sign: UP Lil's 4th sign!

We've been working on the sign UP and Saturday (2/4/12) Lil signed it! She wanted to get out of her high chair and began to whine. Mommy signed UP, and said, "Do you want to get UP ... get UP?" and she raised her little arm, made a teeny fist and her little finger lifted - UP! - yah!

Compliments of Sign2Me

What other scenarios can you think your little one can sign UP? Playing jumping games? Wanting to get out of the playpen? ... What else?

sign: IN

Compliments of our first What's the Sign Wednesdays and Halfpenny Pediatric Speech Services in North Wales, PA we offer you the sign IN!


Now, the sign IN is a tricky one because like in English, the sign IN has various uses depending on the situation and context. For example, "In December, we ...," "The book is in the table drawer," and "You in?" ... See! It depends!  Halfpenny Pediatric Speech Services asked for the sign IN in reference to preposition/spatial words. Again, there is some variation depending on context, but over all it's as shown below. (It was funnier than I thought creating my own signing picture. I hope you enjoy!)

Sign: IN

Now you'll start hearing me refer to your signing hands as dominant and non-dominant hands because depending which hand dominance you are depends on which hand moves where. As you can see, I'm right handed so when I'm teaching my students I would say, "your dominant hand goes into your non-dominant hand (as shown - my left hand is my non-dominant hand). So your non-dominant hand is stationary and your dominant hand moves into your non-dominant hand. 

What's the Sign... Wednesday!

Don't forget, it's that time again! 

What's the Sign Wednesday! 

Let us know what sign you are looking for and 

we will try our best to accommodate!

What's the Sign Wednesday begins!

Update! Refer a FRIEND & Get 10% off & Free Shipping!

So it's come to our attention that not all of our growing fans use blogger, blogspot, or Gmail .. so we're changing the "Refer a Friend" Promotion!! (better for you!!), Simply 'like' our Facebook page (and your FRIEND) and have them write on this post, the last FRIEND post (this link), or the FRIEND post on our Facebook wall. 


The former rules still apply:

1. Refer a FRIEND to our website and to 'like' our Facebook page
2. (*The change*) Have them write "[your name] referred me" (e.g. Jane M. referred me) on this post on our website or Facebook page.

 You will get 10% off any DVD purchase for Series 1 or Series 2! Each DVD will cost you $16.20 + $3.30 for standard shipping.

If you refer 2 or more you will receive free shipping (standard shipping in the United States) 

Please email us with any questions! HearMyHandsLLC@gmail.com

compliments of Sign2Me

This promotion is ending midnight February 9th, 2012. Thanks! Happy Signing!

sign: PLAY! Tips on How to Sign While PLAYING

Last Saturday I had class online for quite a chunk of time and I'm very happy to say Lil was able to PLAY by herself with all her toys (OK - this is only one picture with one toy, but class was in session - I couldn't take tons of pic! In this picture she's playing games with the dog on the couch!). Just goes to show she's growing up! PLAYING is a great time to model some signs with your little one. 




Depending on what toys they are playing with you have tons of options!  Lil has musical toys, animal toys, blocks, puzzles, books... You can imagine all the potential to sign there!

PLAY

Some Tips:

1. Pop-up toys and Jack-in-the-Box toys are fun & repetitive.  While playing, consider signs WHERE, MORE, OPEN, CLOSE, GO, and/or the relevant animal signs.
2. Very simple games or toys allow for simple MY TURN and YOUR TURN (e.g. musical toys, a shape sorter, something that requires different pieces.) 
3. Vehicles such as airplanes, cars, trucks, and trains are entertaining because they can move, may make sounds, and can be manipulated many different ways for play.  Drive or fly them FAST or SLOW, make them STOP, GO,
   & CRASH, or hide them in a tunnel, under a blanket, etc.  Ride-on toys are also useful here. 
4. Puzzles and shape sorters provide opportunities to use signs such as IN,OUT, WHERE, HELP, and color / animal signs (if they are on the toy).
5. Blocks, stacking cups, and nesting cubes are fun for building towers and knocking them down, using the signs BUILD, MORE, UP, DOWN, and FALL.  Cups can be used to hide and find small objects with signs WHERE? Large blocks can be used to play peek-a-boo, encouraging the signs WHERE, MOMMY, BABY.
6. Tea Party Time with mommy, dolls, and stuffed animals!  Sign MORE, DRINK, EAT, ALL DONE. 

These are only some ideas we have :) More to come soon for older babies. 

What ideas do you have? What play time routines do you use sign? 

Or want to use sign?!

Compliments of Sign2Me

sign: HAPPY ... Versatile Award

Thank you to JunkFoodKids for awarding us a Versatile Blogger Award January 29, 2012! Thank you. We're so HAPPY that we are able to reach so many families and helping other learn the thing we love so much - American Sign Language!

Please read my other post for the Versatile Blogger Award details about me and who I nominated.

Thanks again!!

sign: CAR. 5 CAR rides this week alone!

We are very fortunate that our best friends have generously passed down all their clothes from their daughter and any toy, gadget and you-name-it baby-related item that they no longer need and gave it to us! :)! yah!

Lil riding down the street!

Our newest hand-me-down was a car for Lil! Of course, it's winter in the North East and needless to say - not always appropriate time to go outside and take Lil for rides! We were blessed with nice weather last weekend. So with her head cold (see yesterday's blog on Lilly's head cold ) and all we bundled Lil up and went outside! She loved it!!! We took 4 rides just between Saturday and Sunday alone! And I plan on continuing to bundling her up and taking out for as long as the weather lets us :)! Watch out nice weather - we'll be outside daily! She didn't want to hold onto the steering wheel. With a big smile on her face, her arms out like spread open wide, she squeeled 'yaaaaahhh' down our street like, 'look at me mom, no hands!' - it was one of the memorable moments for me. Absolutely loved it!

compliments of Sign2Me

sign: HEAD COLD Lil's sick :(

Poor Lil has quite the HEAD COLD since last weekend. It's keeping her from sleeping soundly or even napping at all. Oh - the journeys of motherhood.  We decided to use baby Vicks and the vaporizer. It's slowly getting better. We even propped her bed slightly so it can drain better. So the sign of the day: HEAD COLD.

What do you do when your little one has a cold?

sign:STOP! Lil listened to STOP!

Lil actually listened when I said 'STOP' and signed STOP! I was so excited!
Perhaps she's ready for that sort of thing. She started getting into sipping her cups through a straw or sippy and then slowly spitting it back out. She's been doing this anywhere, on floor playing, in high chair, in car seat ... She was getting soaked! So I started saying STOP but she just looked and me with her innocent eyes and giggled on. Last night I used the sign with it and ta-da! She STOPPED!
Ya!!

sign: STOP

HearMyHands' Top 5 Daily Routines We Use Sign...

We use sign daily - as you've obviously picked up by our posts - but each day the same few routines happen daily that allow us to use the same signs again and again (which is perfect!!). Signing the same thing day in and day out increases the likelihood that you and your child are going to pick up the sign easier. I always practice what I preach! I think it's important to show Lil the same  consistency with her signs as we do with her night time routine. So she can expect me to sing and dance my little 'eat' song when it's meal time (not snack time, just meal time and not dinner just the other two meals  - there's no time to sing and dance at dinner!). 


So anyway, routines are important in our children but keeping it fun is even more important. Learning sign language should never appear like work. There should never be 'sign language time'.

Ok so how the HearMyHands family uses sign through our day

1. Lil wakes up: I have worked in several pre-schools providing speech-language therapy so I have heard my fair share of circle time songs so I sing a "good morning" song to her to keep her calm (because she's starving) while I change her diaper. I sing and sign GOOD MORNING during the song, "Good morning, good morning, good morning to you (repeat), it's time to wake up and start a new day, good morning, good morning, good morning to you." It's simple! We get dressed and she starts her day.
2. Lil eats: I sing / sign the Signing Time song from Baby Signing Time Volume 1 "I like to eat". During that song I sign EAT and whatever food she is eating and DRINK and perhaps WATER or MILK.
3. Lil bottle time: We sign MILK a lot and she signs it too when she's sitting in her high chair. When she's in her high chair (or pack-n-play) I sign UP a lot to teach her to ask to get UP. When I use the sign I also use question intonation so I'm presenting it like a question, 'do you want to get up?'
4. Bath time: currently we sign BUBBLES in bath time but very soon we will add BATH because she really loves her bath time. She doesn't sign BUBBLES - I think it's because she's pretty occupied starring at the bubble machine and the dog eating the bubbles in the air! But soon I will start turning the bubble machine off and on so we practice the sign BUBBLES. It's all about creating the signing opportunities :)!
5. Play: Lil's too small to start signing all the names of all the toys she's playing with but I reinforce who we are when she's playing with us. So I sign MOMMY and DADDY while we are playing. I sometimes sign PLAY when she's really having a great time.We have two different Leap Frog frig magnet tools. I sometimes sign the animals on the one frig magnet toy, but not often.

I'm sure there are other ways we use sign, but I hope you catch my drift to think about your daily routines, what happens every day, maybe even at the same time every day. Or is there a toy he loves that he plays with daily? Is there a favorite food she eats or friend or family member she plays with? Repetition is key!

I know there will be tons of other signs in Lil's future but she is only 10 months so bombardment isn't a great method at this point. 

But mostly importantly have fun! So how are you using sign?

Sign: FRIEND. Refer a friend & Get 10% off & Free Shipping!

We have a promotion going! February 2nd - 9th

Refer a FRIEND to 'follow' our website and 'like' our Facebook page. ... Have them write on this post your name (e.g. first name last initial - Kristy D. referred me!) and you will get 10% off any DVD purchase for Series 1 or Series 2! Get started now to get 10% off HearMyHands already reduced rates! Each DVD would cost you $16.20 + $3.30 for standard shipping.

If you refer 2 or more you will receive free shipping (standard shipping in the United States) 

to your order!

compliments of Sign2Me

To place your order simply email us hearmyhandsllc@gmail.com with your order. 

We will send you a Pay Pal invoice reflecting the 10% off and possibly free shipping! 

Once payment is received, the DVD(s) will be shipped. 

Returns are not accepted on this promotion. All products are new and in their original packing. This offer expires February 9th 11:59PM EST.

sign: WHAT What's the Sign... Wednesday!

Starting this month (February) we are introducing "What's the sign Wednesday"! We're very excited about this weekly series. Simply post a comment on WHAT sign you are looking and we will try our best to provide that sign! Or if you are looking for a sign for a certain situation (e.g. bath time, eating, etc.). If we can't find the sign in our resources, we'll sign it ourselves!

Get started! We certainly can't do several in a day but we'll surely try to help with one or two a week. If we don't get to yours, check back the following week, perhaps you're sign with be the featured sign!

compliments of lifeprint.com

Stay tuned for the upcoming months special weekly series!