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Signing is Expression

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. If you watched the media coverage of Hurricane Sandy recently, you may have also noticed there was a bit of a buzz over the interpreter who stood by New York’s Mayor Blumberg offering up his message via American Sign Language (ASL). There was, unfortunately, some negative hype over her expressive way of signing. On the other hand, it also opened the door to some great conversation on why exactly signing is so expressive. When you watch someone who is fluent in ASL, you often can’t help but notice just how expressive they are with both their …

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Signing is Movement

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. Over the last several years, children have become more and more sedentary, spending longer time in front of a screen, and less time running, jumping and just moving.  There’s been a lot of concern over the consequences of this change in activity level: from issues with physical development, to childhood obesity, to learning and behavioral problems. Add to that more time sitting at desks in the classroom, and less time running at recess and gym, and we as a nation have a challenge on our hands. This is not to say all is lost, however. PBS …

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Using Signing to Encourage Movement

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. Winter is coming. I live in Connecticut and here on the East Coast we steel ourselves for cold winds and rainy and snowy weather… and probably a few more afternoons indoors than we might want. But not to worry, you can exercise indoors with Alex, Leah – and your child! Enter the Move and Groove DVD. With signs like JUMP, SPIN, WALK, and RUN, your child will have a blast moving in creative ways throughout the environment. On a rainy day, you can stay inside and play a version of “Simon Says” with these kinds of actions. …

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Signing is Spelling

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. One of the biggest messages I find myself repeating to people is that signing with children can go well beyond the pre-verbal months of development. Indeed, if we keep signing with kids after they have started to talk, we begin to reap huge benefits in early literacy, from language development, to learning to read, to early spelling skills. Let’s talk about how sign language can help with something like spelling.  Signing has shown to be a great memory aid because it is both a visual and a tactile (feeling) cue. Children absolutely thrive on movement and …

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Signing is Learning

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. Why did you start signing with your child? Maybe you had hopes of knowing what your baby wanted or needed before she could talk. Or maybe you wanted to bond with your little guy and thought signing was a great way to interact. Whatever the reason was that lead you to signing, you’ve given your child a wonderful gift – the gift of learning. When you sign with a child, did you know that you are laying the groundwork for both early language and literacy? Two leaders in the field of researching sign language and children, …

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Helping Your Clients To See Signing as Learning

By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. Take a moment to think about why people take your signing classes. Many of my clients have told me they want to know what their baby wants before spoken language has developed. Some appreciate the bonding opportunity. Others are just looking for something to do with their infant or toddler and signing classes seem like a good social opportunity. These are all great reasons to take a signing class! But have your clients started to see the cognitive benefits of signings? In other words, do they see signing as learning, at least beyond some simple vocabulary …

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Signing Around Town

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably a fan of Signing Time. So you might already know that our video collection covers a huge array of topics and themes. The videos are a perfect way to learn the signs of course, but then what do you do with them? We suggest you take your signing adventure on the road. Below is a sampling from some of our videos, with great locations to practice the signs in each. Click on the video name for a preview! Volume 6: My Favorite Things: This DVD teaches colors and some …

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These are a Few of My Favorite Things: Online Teaching Resources

By Colleen Brunetti, MEd Fall is fast approaching, and with it comes back to school planning and, for those of us who had a quiet summer with teaching signing classes, a chance to power up and make this our best season so far. There are almost limitless resources for teaching out there. The SigningTime Academy has provided us with three great ones to start: The Instructor’s Manual, The Classroom Edition, and The Preschool and Childcare Program (PCP).  If you are a part of the Signing Time Academy, you get the Instructor’s Manual when you sign on. The Classroom Edition comes …

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