Dec 31 2011
Download this Hand-y Craft now.
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Oct 04 2011
Download template and directions here.
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Sep 28 2011
This guest blog post is by Jennifer Richards Sanchez and is part of our Making a Difference series.
After the birth of my daughter, Ava-now 20 months old, I was talking with a woman at my work (Becky Sawruck) whose son, Aidan, is hearing impaired. She said that the Signing Time series had made a huge impact on their life and enabled early communication with their son. I think Aiden knew close to two hundred signs by the time he was just two years old. Becky loaned me the Baby Signing Time DVDs to start with and we began watching them when Ava was around 6 months old. We have now collected all but four DVDs between both series, and Ava just soaks it all up with amazing retention. Her favorite DVD is Leah’s Farm 
She insists on fast-forwarding to the songs and grabbing everyone in the room, forcing us all into one big dance off! No one sits it out when that video is on!I posted my story on the Signing Time Facebook Page because it was so touching:
Today at the Botanic Gardens, my daughter Ava and I met a 5-year-old girl who had a trach (a small tube in her neck through which she breathes due to respiratory failure). Because of the trach, she was unable to speak, but she could SIGN! I am sure Ava was staring at her neck with a confused look on her face and as a result the little girl signed to her mom that Ava was SAD. The mom told the little girl that Ava was not sad, and Ava chimed in by saying “hap” and signing HAPPY. I told them that we were excited to see the flowers and all the water ponds and waterfalls. Ava squealed and signed EXCITED!! The little girl giggled at Ava and her mom said, “You guys must watch Signing Time!” It was amazing to watch Ava connect with and ‘talk’ to that little girl!
We are hoping to become fluent, keeping sign language as a second language for our family. With that as a goal, we are planning on taking a sign language class at the community college this fall to expand our signing and work on technique and everyday conversation. Watching the DVDs has kept us so motivated! Signing Time has been so motivating that my adult step children watch the videos with Ava when they visit, and two of the kids have enrolled in college sign language classes in order to better communicate with their sister. They also plan on teaching their children to sign in the future.
-Jennifer
Jul 11 2011
Dear Signing Time Friends,
My husband , Aaron is a Major in the United States Marine Corps, myself - Tanya, Christian is 10, Anna is 7, Thomas is 11, Abigail is 1, Matthew is 4, and Daniel is 3
Our family sincerely thanks you for what you have done for us. Your DVDs, board books, and flashcards have been such a blessing in our lives. For six years we tried to adopt from overseas. During that time, we lost three children we were supposed to bring home and were on a major emotional roller coaster. We already have five biological children. When people ask us why we wanted to adopt, the answer is simple. There are so many children who need a home and love and want to give back, but do not have a chance unless someone steps up and says, “I will take you just as you are.” Last spring after losing a biological baby and a referral for a little boy, we were asked to take in a deaf child from China. We immediately said yes, knowing we could handle anything God was going to give us if we relied on Him and not just our own strength. People thought we were crazy and did not know what we were getting into. I knew it was going to be OK, but definitely expected some hard times. This past February we brought home Matthew Grant. He is four years old and profoundly deaf. He had been in the orphanage since he was six months old and had no communication skills. I looked into sign language courses, but they cost more than our budget would allow, as we were still paying off the $55,000 we had spent during our 6-year adoption journey. A friend of a friend suggested Signing Time videos to us because she used them with her two adopted boys who are deaf. Seeing the reasonable price, I was sold! Our family uses the materials each and every day and I am so happy to say that Matthew now understands that we are communicating with him! It took about four weeks for the light bulb to go off, and now I cannot get ahead of him. I have an app on my phone that doesn’t even have all he asks about. We are so delighted to have added him as our sixth child and our family loves sign language. His teacher was real impressed with the Signing Time materials. She recommended that we continue using them. We are so blessed to have found your web site. Thank you so much for all your hard work to make a difference to children and their families. Number seven is due any time and you can bet she will be a signing baby, too!!!
Sincerely,
Tanya
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Jun 04 2011
This guest blog post is from LeeAnn. She’s the one who creates those cute Signing Time “Hand-y Crafts” every month. She sends out the Sign of the Week email and Signing Time newsletter, and she answers the questions parents ask us on our Facebook page. This is a question she gets a lot, so we asked her to share her answer here.
Many parents wonder what to do after their child has learned all the signs in the Baby Signing Time series. For me, that answer is easy.
With my oldest daughter, we started with Signing Time Volumes 1-3 because that is all that was available! We waited for each new volume and introduced them to her as quickly as they were released. Volumes 4-6 were released shortly after my second daughter was born. Then in 2005, I was lucky enough to start working for Two Little Hands Productions. I ran a signing playgroup that got invited to be part of the filming of Volumes 7-9, so those quickly became my daughters’ favorites because they knew the kids in the DVDs!
A few years later, we were blessed with a son. With him, we started with Baby Signing Time. However, we also show him Signing Time, Practice Time and Story Time videos. He is 2 1/2 now and asks for the DVDs by name. His current favorites are Baby Signing Time Vol. 4: Let’s Be Friends, Signing Time Vol. 9: Zoo Train, and Signing Time Vol. 5: ABC Signs. It is so fun to watch him sign his ABCs. Last week he was signing them in his sleep, but by the time I got the video camera out and set up, he was awake.
So when parents ask me what DVD to buy after Baby Signing Time, my answer is “any of them!” My family started out using the series sequentially, but we’ve experienced just as much fun using all of the Baby Signing Time, Signing Time, Practice Time and Story Time videos at once, in no particular order.
S
o now that you know what my experience is, let me share with you what others do. Many parents move from Baby Signing Time right into the Signing Time Volumes 1-3, which have most of the same signs that are featured in the Baby Signing Time series, but are an excellent sign review. Some parents skip those videos and jump in at Vol. 4: Family, Feelings and Fun. No matter where you start, you’ll enjoy Series 1, which ends with Vol. 13: Welcome to School. From there you can introduce Sing & Sign, Practice Time, Story Time and Signing Time Series Two.
There is no wrong way to keep teaching your children ASL vocabulary. The most important part is sharing that time with your child and learning new ways to communicate.
Watch the clip of Sam signing along as he watches Volume 9 Zoo Train.
Say hello to LeeAnn at the Signing Time Facebook page!