Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed.
Originally Published March 5, 2013. Updated to reflect current information.
Families who homeschool their children have a wonderful opportunity to choose curriculum and activities tailored exactly to their child’s needs and interests. Let’s look at some of the ways that signing with your homeschooled child can be integrated into your day.
Capitalize on your child’s learning strengths
As we well know, children learn in different ways and through a variety of strengths. Sign language taps into tactile (touch), auditory, visual, and kinesthetic (movement) ways of communicating, making it highly accessible for just about any young learner. Further, signing appeals to many ages, making it ideal to use when you are working with more than one child in a family.
Enhance learning across subject areas
Sign language can be used all throughout the curriculum. Read a book and sign the words you know, or use your signing number skills to support concepts like learning to count, addition, and subtraction. Make practicing poetry or learning about social studies come alive as you sign key vocabulary along with your lessons. And of course – sing! All of Signing Time’s materials are set to music that children love.
Introduce a second language
If you are involved in a homeschooling co-op, consider hosting sign language lessons. You can do it yourself using our wide variety of materials offered as a Signing Time Academy Instructor or perhaps you want to bring in a Signing Time Academy Instructor as a guest teacher. Enhance this learning with some cultural experiences by contacting a local Deaf organization in your area to see how your children might be able to get involved and meet some people from the community to practice their signs with.
Homeschool Resources
If you want to take it even further, full curriculum with lesson plans, printable pages, and interactive activities are available in the Signing Time K-3 Classroom Curriculum, and Preschool and Child Care Program.