No-Stress Sign Language

I found out about Signing Time several years ago from my daughter, Kelly. She started working for a company called Two Little Hands Productions. I was living in California at the time and remember when she sent me a gift set, which included My First Signs, Playtime Signs and Everyday Signs. What fun! I immediately began to learn new signs and found myself singing along with Rachel. I was addicted! This is a show that kept my attention and helped me learn a new language, while being totally family friendly. When I watch the shows, Rachel makes me feel like I am one of the family. Alex and Leah are fun and entertaining and the cast of children are adorable. Kelly continued to send me new shows, so before I moved to Utah, I already had all the available Signing Time collection.

My granddaughter, Emma, was born in November 2006 and we ordered Baby Signing Time for her. At just three months old, if she was fussy, we would put Rachel in and she would calm down. The music CDs are great! When we are in the car and we have an unhappy little girl, all we have to do is put in one of the Signing Time CDs and Emma is all smiles.

Just a year ago, my husband and I moved to Utah. As I began searching for a job, Kelly let me know that Two Little Hands was looking for an Office Manager. I was hired and am very blessed to be working for such a wonderful company with such a fabulous, creative team. Rachel, Emilie and the rest of the team truly do make me feel like part of their wonderful family.

If you call TLH, it may very well be me who answers the phone. I have the privilege of working with our Signing Time customers. I am part of the Customer Service team. We help with product questions, placing an order, or questions relating to shipments, answering emails, among other things. The customer service at Signing Time is one of the best I have ever seen.

I was thinking about what we get asked most and what you, as a customer, would like to know about. We get a lot of questions about why Rachel’s fingers are colored. She actually tells you herself – just take a look at the special features section on your DVD!

One thing that I think everyone should know about are our Signing Time Online Forums. There is a wealth of information there about anything to do with sign language. What is so great about the forum is that you can ask other people questions if you don’t see the answers you need. You can also find out all about Rachel, Emilie, Alex, Leah and Hopkins. Did you know that Hopkins birthday is September 9?

On our forums there is a thread called, “How do you sign…” and also links for websites that will help if you are stuck learning a sign. There are play groups, success stories, ideas for signing with your baby and many other topics. Check it out on our website under Fun Stuff.

Another one of my greatest joys has been my granddaughter. I have loved watching her grow and learn. She has been using sign language since she was about 8 months old. It has been amazing and a relief that she was and is able to communicate with us what she wants and needs. Being so young, she doesn’t always do the signs perfectly. For instance, she has always signed water with a flat hand over her mouth while making an ‘ahhhhh’ sound. My daughter always gives her the water and does the correct sign. Just a few days ago, Emma was watching Signing Time and Rachel signed water. Emma did her water sign and as she watched Rachel sign it correctly, Emma signed it correctly. For several times she did it her way, then the correct way. Since then, she is now signing water as it should be signed. It just all of a sudden seemed to click!

Even though children may not be doing their signs correctly, I found that it is important to be patient and continue to gently reinforce the sign. Have fun with your children and never let learning sign language be stressful. Let this time of your life with your children be an enjoying and amazing experience.