Happy New Year (sign: CELEBRATE & ENJOY - seemed appropriate for the occasion)

I wish you and your family a Happy New Year! Go and CELEBRATE! 

ENJOY your night and your time with your family. 

 

WINTER'S Definitely Here and We're Going to Get SNOW!

I'm so excited, during our winter break we got SNOW flakes for Christmas Eve and we're supposed to get real snow tomorrow morning! Happy WINTER to everyone!

Sign for SNOW: 

There are two different signs for SNOW - this one above is representing slowly moving fingers (gentle wiggle if you may) representing the snow slowing falling. 

The other SNOW sign is a combo sign ... WHITE + RAIN

Sign: WINTER is the same as COLD (just obviously your mouth is saying 'WINTER' versus COLD! ;)

Merry Christmas Sign Language style

I hope everyone had a wonderfully blessed CHRISTMAS.

Ms. Little Fingers had her fingers into some great gifts bright and early (6:30am!) with ALL the family to watch (including distant family via Skype!). She was old enough to understand and enjoy opening gifts this year and we really got a kick out of watching her throughout the day during the three gift opening opportunities she got.

She enjoyed the lights on the CHRISTMAS TREE ...

(Sign: CHRISTMAS TREE) 

She enjoyed singing JINGLE BELLS...

(sign: JINGLE BELLS - or BELLS)


She even enjoyed the CANDY CANES on the CHRISTMAS TREE too! (which is why we employed the sign: NO TOUCH! click here for NO TOUCH sign!)

(Sign: CANDY CANE)

Overall, it was a great CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from HearMyHands Family to Yours!

Holiday Sign Language Game: Name that Christmas Song (With a sign language hint)

Need something to do this weekend at your Christmas parties or dinner table? How about a little play-on-words!? 

Here are some popular holiday songs described in a slightly different way than their title .. Name that song! (Best part, hopefully you'll know the sign language hint! - the sign is the word actually in the song)

1. Flicker flicker, small heavenly body.

2. Five p.m to six a.m. 

3. I desire a large herbivorous African mammal for the holiday.

4. Small percussion-playing male

5. A dozen 24-hour Yule period

sign: NO TOUCH, why? Because Little Fingers won't keep her fingers away!

I know it doesn't start with R, but this was so appropriate because I'm sure there are many other parents out there going through what I am going through. How many times can you say "NO." So .. now I sign NO TOUCH! (you can also see that's there's hardly any ornaments on the bottom - she truly can't resist! and I caught her red handed!)

NO TOUCH!

Happy Holidays!

R is for RED (RED for the holidays!)

Only seemed appropriate ... R is for RED 

(Happy Holidays!)

Sometimes you will see RED as a fingerspelled R with the same movement. Depending on your location, you can see it both ways. 

What's the Sign Wednesday - Holiday edition. Tell me, what's the sign!?

We're doing What's the Sign Wednesday a little bit different tonight. You tell me, What's this Sign!?

(hint: Holiday related)

R is for REINDEER

R is for REINDEER!

Ms Little Fingers is too young for this sign but I definitely sign it while singing the ever famous REINDEER song :)

Merry Christmas!

Letter of the Week: R

Letter of the week R

I have some great Holiday signs starting with R this week!

Sign Language Success! Guest Post from one of our Winner of Giving Thanks Week

Sign Language To the Rescue!

Read this great story how sign language helped this grateful family (she was also one of the winners to our Giving Thanks Week during Thanksgiving).

                                                                                                             

            Sign Language has played a substantially important role in my family's life. Our daughter Iliana, who is now 7 years old, was born with several disabilities. I remember when she was 3, she was still not picking up speech; her four words were "Dada, Momma, night, & bye bye". We tried everything from speech-language pathology at the hospital to OT and Speech classes several days a week at home, but to no avail. We attributed this learning/speech delay to her extensive brain damages previous to birth. At that age of 3, she also received her tracheostomy tube and it was the last time I ever heard any of those four words from her again. You can imagine the devastation we felt even if it was only four words. 

             However, one day my sister mentioned teaching her some simple signs and that she may even learn to communicate back with us. This opened up new opportunities for our family. 

             Iliana is now signing single words - a word to describe what she wants to do or what she would like (for example, her toy phone).  She knows many basic signs! I know the frustration that parents and children who can't speak feel, when communication between each other is just not there. Your child wants something but doesn't know how to communicate it, leaving us to guess. Daily life can be dramatically improved starting with just basic signing. The signs for milk or eat, play, happy, sad, hurt, and etc. has helped us greatly!

            Now that Iliana is a little older she is able to ask me for things. She has to sign things in the room that she sees, instead of crying and pointing. This really makes me so happy, and I know she is eager to learn more! One thing I’ve learned about using sign language is that you don't have to be an expert at using it. I am no expert and am still continuously learning all the time. However it is also not impossible to remember the new signs, while learning. So, do not be discouraged if you are thinking about learning as you go, and teaching your child.

            Our favorite ways to learn together has been by using Flash cards, iPad apps, Rachel Coleman's Signing Time DVDs, and recently we were generously gifted the book, Signing Time Play Time Signs, which is a wonderful picture teaching book that she will enjoy over and over! (Thank You, HearMyHands). ASL is not just for deaf and hard of hearing, but an awesome tool for special needs children and adults, or anyone with the desire to learn. I am so grateful we have this amazing language, because communicating with Iliana has been a true joy and we look forward to learning more together, every day!

Tina Shupe

Mypuffycheeks.com

Happy Chanukah

I'm sorry, I know I am late but I didn't forget.

Happy Chanukah!

Q is for QUIET

Shh!! Q is for QUIET

My daughter has started whispering and loving it. She also loves putting her doll babies to sleep. So it's a perfect time to introduce - QUIET!

Q is for QUEEN

Q is for QUEEN

To sign QUEEN: make a Q and put on the top corner of your chest around your shoulder and go do on a diagonal to the bottom of your torso .. QUEEN (like the her sash!)

Trying something new - what do you think of the signed pictures?!?

Letter of the week: Q!

Letter of the week: Q

(I even have some signs already made for Q!)
Yah for my semester being over!

P is for PIG

P is for PIG ...

PIG and DIRTY are the same sign, can you guess why!?

P is for PLEASE and PURPLE!

P is for PURPLE and PLEASE.

We're starting to teach Little Fingers colors. It amazes me each day the new things she is picking up. She can even say PURPLE too! 

PLEASE is surely one she uses faithfully on a daily basis. Learn those manners early!! :)

PURPLE (shake a P downwards couple times)

Place a flat hand on your chest and go in a circle - PLEASE.

letter of the week: P

So for the first time, we went completely MIA for the week. I'm so sorry about that ... the post-Thanksgiving craze, work, school, life ... oy! But we're back and we have some great holiday signs coming your way soon!

So, letter of the week!