sign: SANTA. Little fingers learned to sign SANTA in ASL. Bonus: SANTA crafts

The sign SANTA is very important around here. It was taught yesterday, on BLACK Friday because of course SANTA'S already out and about.
Signing Simon got to work and here's SANTA.

But I thought that's not it!
We're including some of our favorite SANTA crafts!
1. SANTA Advent Calendar. This count calendar reinforces counting and numbers with the fun excitement of SANTA!

2. Santa Flowering pots. I thought this was adorable, some great hands on crafts.

3. Santa DIY popsicle sticks (and friends). Super cute!

sign: STUFFING, thinking of my thanksgiving left overs .. what can I make with my STUFFING?

With Thanksgiving finished now, we have all these leftovers! Anyone have any good suggestions for what to make with left over STUFFING ? 

Sign: STUFFING - think you are STUFFING the turkey!

sign: TRAVEL , where did you TRAVEL for the Thanksgiving holiday?

With holidays coming many people are TRAVELING to see their families and loved ones. We're lucky enough to have our family TRAVEL to us! 

Our guests are leaving early this year. They're left yesterday. What were your TRAVELING plans? Our Little Fingers and Tiny Fingers are not the best travelers. Any tips to make them better travelers. We TRAVEL in baby steps .. and we're still not ready for the 8-hour ride to the family's house.

Sign: TURKEY. signing TURKEY and keeping those Little Hands busy during Thanksgiving holiday.

Little Fingers Gramma is in town and she has lots of TURKEY crafts PLANNED for Lil (psst - PLANNED was the Sign of the Day last week!).

I found this cute craft on Signing Time's website. A cute TURKEY (click here for the template and directions). I also have a variety of Thanksgiving crafts and therapy ideas on on my Pinterest Boards.

Sign: TURKEY think of the bottom part of the TURKEY's chin -
some say Wattle, some say Gobbler

sign: PLAN , what are you planning for the holidays?

With Thanksgiving, Chanukah, and Christmas coming up we all have lots of PLANNING to do! What special things do you do for the holidays?

Sign: PLAN (think - get one thing done and move on [over] to the next. PLAN

We have tons of things PLANNED: family in town, Thanksgiving dinner, Black Friday shopping, putting the Christmas lights up ... so so much!

I have to be honest, this isn't on my teach-my-daughter list. But I do use it at work with my students and it's something I sign with my high school student all the time.

#ASLLOVE #IHEARTASL #SIGNINGOURWAYTHROUGHTHANKSGIVING

sign: HARVEST. It's the theme in our books right now

graphic compliments of MyCuteGraphics

I've been reading a lot to different THANKSGIVING books to Little Fingers. Some of the themes is HARVEST (obviously)... teaching a two and half year what HARVEST is isn't the easiest thing I'm doing recently, let me tell you.

Sign: HARVEST (reminds me of putting the seed down and continuing to plant. HARVEST)

How do you teach your toddlers and pre-k children these tricky words these time of year .. HARVEST!

#SignLanguageLove #ASLforever #Thanksgivingsigns We're on it!

sign: SISTER , thankful Little Fingers has a SISTER! What are you thankful for this season?

This year Little Fingers is thankful she has

her little SISTER,Tiny Fingers, to spend Thanksgiving with! I'm extremely happy to have two happy and healthy kids! What are you thankful for?

(Don't forget- when you're signing people signs below the nose is female, above the nose is male. Just a little reminder).

GIVEAWAY!

This is our first Thanksgiving Thankful giveaway. Tell us one thing you are thankful for below (in a comment) and you get one chance to win! Share this status on Facebook and comment on Facebook and get a second chance to win! We are giving away a Signing Time DVD for our first giveaway. 

The winner will be notified via this blog and on Facebook. It is their responsibility to email us within 24 hours to provide us an address to mail the prize. Good luck!

DON'T FORGET - OUR FLASHSALE ENDS TONIGHT AS WELL. BUY THE NEW RACHEL & THE TREESCHOOLERS AND GET A FREE DVD! EMAIL US OR COMMENT BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS!

Rachel & The TreeSchoolers New Release!! Flash Sale!

sign for LEAF PILE. ASL learning each day with each new experience! Raking the LEAVES and signing. Why not?!

I'm sure you are familiar by now but I take each moment as a moment to teach Little Fingers (and now Tiny Fingers) sign language! Last weekend we were raking leaves. So while she was jumping in the LEAF PILE I taught her the sign for LEAF PILE! Best part now is now she teaches Teeny Fingers. 

The Sign for LEAF PILE is LEAF plus PILE. ASL LEAF reminds me of the LEAF falling of the tree. The sign PILE sure looks like a pile right? What ASL signs are you learning right now?

Don't forget about our other fall signs! 

We have FALL (click here) & TREE (click here)

We almost had a lost solider in our LEAF PILE! Ironically, he looks so much like Hopkins right! 

 RESEMBLANCE MUCH!?

sign: Fall. It's autumn, it's Fall! FALL FALL LEAVES

Sign Language Fall Fun! ASL learning every season!

Now that my daughter is old enough (2.5 years old), we read thematic books. So now we're on FALL. I taught her that Halloween is over (so she stopped asking where all the indoor/outdoor decorations went!). We've been reading every FALL themed book I can get my hands on. And yet, I realized I forgot to teach her the sign for FALL!

So here it is. ASL FALL. Sign for FALL! Hopefully I'll have a new post with her signing it :) She's picking up new signs daily and teaching her sister (8 months)! Super fun sign language times over here! 

sign: GARDEN. Time to get planting!

We had a request for GARDEN for this great spring season.
I don't have a vegetable GARDEN, but I do enjoy my FLOWER GARDEN. So does Little Fingers - getting her fingers on all my FLOWERS!

I can't believe how small Little Fingers is! (this was last spring)

 

GARDEN: imagine you are sprinkling the seeds into the GARDEN. Your fingers wiggle in that motion and your hands move forward.

sign: STORE. My daughter's first trip to the food STORE

Today I ventured out to our local food store with Em, my 10 week old! It was successful! She enjoyed looking at all the food and lights. I guess it's time to start venturing other places as well! 

Where was your first big outing just you and your baby?

Sign: STORE - move your wrists forward and backwards. Just
make sure you don't move your elbows (and turn the sign into TEACH!)

sign: MONEY. Save $$$ by shopping at the Best Dressed for Less Sales this weekend!

I'm getting very excited the semi annual sales I started talking about last week with Best Dressed for Less in Burlington, NJ. I have several sign language classes started and in the works for June and throughout the summer ... this sale is helping me get all the materials I need to make these classes extra fun and special.  This time they are even stepping it up and are selling Melissa and Doug items brand new (great for Miss Little Fingers)!

Sign: MONEY

I'm going this weekend! Hope you see you there

How sign language can benefit a therapy session. Read our Guest Post from Jessica of Figuratively Speeching

Today we have a great guest post from Jessica from Figuratively Speeching. I wanted to hear how other SLPs are able to use sign language in their practice and therapy... new perspective.

As an SLP, one of my major goals is to improve a child’s ability to communicate through functional means, which is not only through verbal communication. Functional communication allows children to get their messages across using spoken words, printed words, gestures, sign language or through accessing a communication device. 

I incorporate sign language every day with my students, whether they are in Early Intervention, preschool, or are school age. Signs are wonderful to use as visual cues to assist students in staying on task, help with following directions, requesting and when questioning students during activities. They also help build vocabulary in nonverbal or minimally verbal children, as well as provide cues to assist in recall of newly learned vocabulary in older children. Children learn best when multiple senses are engaged and experiencing life. By adding sign language to a child’s communication options, you are giving them the opportunity to hear the word (when it is spoken), see the word (when watching it spoken, as well as signed) and perform the word by signing it. This multi-sensory form of communication helps children acquire vocabulary more quickly and efficiently. One of my Life Skills students is working with preschool children, and she is interested in teaching them how to communicate through sign language, so we practice once weekly. When going into homes for Early Intervention, I bring articles about the benefits of sign language. Here is one handout from United Way.

This next one is from Super Duper’s Handy Handouts:
 
Encouraging Spoken Language Through Signs

Finally, here is a link to a page with more than 90 common signs for children that I share with parents to assist in carryover. What is wonderful about this site is that each sign has its own video, and the instructor explains what to do while she signs: 
              


Most parents are receptive to having their children learn sign. It is amazing to see how easily they pick up sign. 

 I had the opportunity to use the March ASL packet from Hear My Hands last month (click here). Here is a collage with some of the included activities: I have to say that I love Signing Simon (that adorable boy in the blue shirt)! 
                    

 The graphics are wonderful and clear, and the packet encompassed vocabulary that I used throughout the month of March. I loved that there were receptive and expressive language tasks. By the end of the month, my students were able to identify and use most of the signs from the packet. 

 Not only do I teach my students sign, but I also teach basic signs to their teachers. The teachers can then incorporate the signs as visual cues to gain attention, and use as “secret” signals to my students. My students love these signals, because it helps them focus, and provides a nonverbal cue that does not call attention to them. I hope you will try to incorporate some sign language into your speech sessions. It is something different to do, and fun to learn for everyone!


Thank you Jessica. Don't forget to check our her blog (click here) and show her some Facebook love (here!) 

Jessica wrote about some hand outs to give to parents .. great ideas! Don't forget to check out our Tips and Games page for some great posts on benefits!

sign: GAME! I'm excited to get more GAMES!

Today's sign is GAME!

Why?

It's time for The Best Dressed for Less sale! While they have everything known to man for mommies-to-be, newborns all the way to children ages clothes and gear/gadgets, I love getting my therapy and class materials!

Here's one of my many shelves full of games and toys bought at the great semi-annual sale! Their prices are great (which helps me being a traveling therapist to fill my various shelves in my numerous locations). My sign language students also don't mind all the great finds ;)

For all those who live in South Jersey and Philadelphia, you really must check it out! It's next week! May 3-5th in Burlington, NJ and I'm so excited! Here's their site: http://www.bestdressedsale.com/

So what seemed appropriate was the sign GAME. I even got one of my students to sign it as we just finished playing one of the many games I have bought there last fall!

sign: CLEAN (good for Earth Day and it's a new sign for Little Fingers)

Appropriate for Earth Day Monday!

compliments of MyCuteGraphics.com

sign: CLEAN

(It's also a new sign for Lil. We use this while singing the "Clean Up' song.)

compliments of Sign2Me

**Please note: the signs CLEAN and NICE are the same handshapes, but the movement is different. I always say, think of your hand sweeping the dirty away in the sign CLEAN (so the motion repeats a couple times).

4 Ways We Incorporate Signing with Music...

Yesterday we did the sign for MUSIC (click here) ...

Now we talk about FOUR great ways to incorporate sign language with MUSIC

• Sing songs before, during, and after familiar everyday routine such as diapering, toileting, eating, sleeping, waking, bathing, and cleaning up.  Create your own songs or borrow from popular CD’s.
• Add signs to favorite songs such as "Happy and You Know It" (emotions), "Old MacDonald" (animals), and so on ...
• Play instruments and learn GO, STOP, LOUD, SOFT, FAST, SLOW
• Play the 'freeze' (or 'Red Light') game while music plays in the background and encourage movement and signs like DANCE, JUMP, RUN, WALK, and then of course STOP and GO for the music.

Signing with music can be lots of fun

How do you sign with music? 

sign: MUSIC (Little Fingers' next new sign)

Little Fingers likes to bang on her new drum set she got for her birthday. She's always liked jammin' out on her piano keyboard and Elmo guitar. Couple weeks ago, it dawned on me that I didn't teach her the sign for MUSIC! 

Next up - the sign for MUSIC!

sign: SHORTS - it's hot here!

Today is the first day of true SHORTS weather! Record highs here in New Jersey! What about where you live? 

Miss Little Fingers even played in the sprinkler today!

sign: BIG (for tomorrow's BIG day)

Tomorrow's the BIG day for Miss Little Fingers. We're finally celebrating her birthday (it was last month - yikes! The new baby impeded on those plans a little but we're still going to celebrate!).

Sign: BIG

Last year I talked a lot about different birthday signs such as 
CELEBRATION
BIRTHDAY (with a few different variations)
PLANNING
EXCITED
                                      Go check them out! :)

sign: DUCK .. Little Fingers' newest sign

Yesterday (on Easter), Little Fingers received a Duck stuffed animal. She knew the word 'duck,' which I accredit all of her books, but my husband and I were just talking about how we need to keep up with her signs as we started slacking with the new baby here the past 4 weeks. We've been a little pre-occupied you could say! So I looked at it as the perfect opportunity, signed DUCK and Ta-Da! She signed DUCK and remembered the sign a few minutes later! Score! Another sign down :)

Sign: DUCK

What did the Easter bunny bring your children? (Mom mom's Easter bunny gave her the DUCK)

sign: EGG as in Easter EGG

compliments of clipartstand.com

The past two days we've been talking about Easter signs ..
We have BUNNY, HIDE and Now EGG!

It always reminds me of cracking the EGG.

We're hoping to decorate our EGGS Friday ... I'll definitely let you know how that goes (very afraid of the large mess with our just-two-year old!)

sign: HIDE as in HIDE the Easter eggs!

Today's Easter related sign is ...

Goes perfectly with yesterday's sign BUNNY! The Easter BUNNY HIDES the eggs! ... guess what tomorrow's sign might be!?

Questions I get about our Adult Signing Classes

I thought this topic was appropriate ... 

Questions I Get About Our Adult Signing Classes 

I find it appropriate because there's no cookie-cutter way that individuals teach an informal Intro to Conversational Sign Class... It's all very different! I say that because maybe one class just focuses on the ABCs and maybe another class assumes that the ABCs are known and doesn't even address it! While lastly, another class just continues to teach categorically (e.g. colors, people, food) and forgets to incorporate it's functionality!

So .. I don't want to give our class away completely but I want to say, yes you will learn your ABCs. Why? Because handshapes have changed over time (just like the English language has changes!) and also, I'm a perfectionist and why not make sure we're all signing them correctly!?

We also learn simple conversations as if you were to meet someone new, what would you say!? (psst - I'll give you a hint!)

• Hi, How are you?
• I'm good. What's your name?
• My name is Kristy. What's your name?
• My name is Tom. Where do you live? 

Etc.! and guess what? - that's just lesson one!  Seems like a little, but if you don't feel 100% confident to doing all of that fluently then this is the class for you!

And we just grow from there. Each week we add some more questions/sentences.  Of course, there's no pressure. But we do have fun. We do apply what with learn. And most importantly we do Sign! Sign Sign and SIGN!

Can't wait to sign with you soon! (Here's the class info - - click here -- and here's the registration form! -- click here-- )