Tag: Sign Language

The Gallaudet Children’s Dictionary: A Net Galley Review

Grace-Filled Writer
 
The Gallaudet Children’s Dictionary would be a fabulous addition to any family’s library. This beautiful full-color dictionary  shows very clearly how to create over 1,000 signs. A DVD is included, but as I reviewed the e-book version I did not receive that, so this is just a review of the book. 
Each page is beautiful. Most pages have three words, some at the beginning and end of a letter section have two. Included with each word entry is a sentence, picture, and clear demonstration of how to create the sign. Some words include synonyms as well.
What is great about this particular dictionary is that even if you have a child that is not reading yet, they should be able to mimic the pictures for signing while associating it with the illustration. I think this makes it one of the best resources for young children who are interested in signing whether out of curiosity or necessity. 
In addition to the fact that children can use this easily, I think this would be highly beneficial for adults just beginning to learn as well. The directions for how to sign are very clear with each color illustration having a second black and white overlay with it to show motion and direction. Besides in-person instruction, I’ve yet to see another book as clear. 
I would highly recommend this particular book to any family looking to learn the basic words in sign language. 
Disclaimer: I received this title from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way. I was not required to write a positive review.

Signing Time Christmas Collection Review and Giveaway!

Grace-Filled Writer

It has been a loooooooong time since I’ve had the opportunity to run a giveaway and I’m super excited about this one. My kids always enjoy the many products we review, but they were over-the-moon giddy! Learning Christmas signs with American Sign Language has never been more fun!


We discovered Signing Time only few years ago when my oldest daughter stared asking me if she could learn sign language. We taught my daughter basic baby signs when they were infants after two of my piano students who were sisters began teaching her at 6 months old. It was such a blessing to us and we continued to teach our next two daughters the same basic signs. I had no clue there was such a wonderful company like Two Little Hands Productions or we would have begun collecting them years ago!

The series was completed several years ago, but through crowd-funding in 2013, the Signing Time Christmas Collection became a reality. Fans of the show new and old showed their support and raised well over the amount needed for production. I’m so excited to have been chosen as one of the 25 bloggers given the opportunity to bless one of my readers with this brand-new collection for Christmas!

My girls were absolutely giddy when they started watching. Since we were reviewing the digital copy, I had a chance to surprise them and the light in the girls’ eyes as the Signing Time theme song came on was just delightful. Rose’s first comment was, “Oh! Alex and Leah are so grown up!” She’s right and I think it is just so neat that even grown up they were part of this very special Signing Time.

All of us loved learning the signs for Christmas songs. Rachel has many new songs included in this collection as well as familiar Christmas favorites. I’m so grateful she included the traditional carols as many trending Christmas shows and movies are drifting towards more modern songs. I love all Christmas songs, but the neat thing about these is my girls can sign along with their favorite carols in church on Sundays. Rose’s favorite song was the Signs of Christmas and Grace loved Silent Night. Beth said she loved them all and couldn’t pick just one!

I loved how Rachel goes over each sign prior to the songs and taught them so very clearly. My girls will be signing Silent Night with some other children as part of our annual church Christmas dinner in a few weeks. This will be a great way for them to practice!

This newest Signing Time collection is a must-have! We love it and have watched it several times already. You can now purchase either DVD copies or digital copies of your favorite Signing Time episodes. They even have a digital subscription option which can allow you access to everything produced by Two Little Hands Productions!

And now for the promised giveaway! You don’t want to miss this incredible opportunity! I sure wish I could give this to all my readers, but since only one of you will have the chance to be blessed, take a minute to earn some entries! (Pssst…some you can do every day!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Signing Time: Review and a Freebie!

Grace-Filled Writer

When my oldest daughter was about 8 months old she finished her puffed star snack, looked directly at me, and started touching her finger tips together. I found this a little odd because she seemed to be trying to tell me something, but for the life of me I didn’t have a clue! My husband walked into the room and said, “She wants some more snack.” When I questioned him on how he knew what she wanted and what in the world it had to do with her hands he explained that the pair of sisters I had been teaching piano to had been teaching her signs. I would teach one piano and they would teach her sign language. I was shocked and delighted! I had them teach me a few basic baby signs and we used just the basics with my girls from about 6 months on: more, yes, and all done. I think there may have been more, but those are the ones I remember! This picture of Grace saying, “All Done!” Very emphatically with her hands after taking one bite of carrots at about 9 months!

My oldest daughter has been asking me to learn more about sign language. When Two-Little Hands gave me the opportunity to review Volume 13:Welcome to School I was excited and so were my girls! This DVD teaches many of the common signs of things found in school. The signs formally taught on this DVD are: Crayons, Scissors, Paper, Glue, Pen, Pencil, Table, Chair, Backpack, School, Line Up, Pay attention, Learn, Remember, Smart, Principal, Teacher, Class, Student, Name, World, Numbers, Count, Draw, Paint, Read, Quiet, and Rest. In addition to these formal signs Rachel, the Signing Time teacher, uses a number of other signs as she talks and sings. Rose (seven-years-old) picked up on a lot of those while Grace (three-years-old) and Beth (five-years-old) mostly focused on the formally taught sings.

The first thing that struck me about the DVD was how quickly it engaged my girls. Like many families we choose to limit the amount of time our girls are focused on a screen. There are many reasons for this, but one in particular is the lack of participation and interaction required is typically minimal even with educational shows. With signing time my girls all worked hard to sign well and talked with one another as well. Rose especially encouraged and helped her younger sisters.

Principal

The girls asked to watch this every single day. I’m not kidding! They love it that much! Not only that, they started signing to one another and to me to ask for things. It has been a really fun thing to watch.
Scissors

It’s really neat to see my seven, five, and three-year-old learning together and able to successfully learn at the same time. It is also rare to find a DVD which all three enjoy equally. Usually what interests one bores the other. All I have to say is, “It’s Signing Time!” They run and sit as quickly as they can while they wait for me to get it started.


Table
The girls also really enjoyed the extra features as well, especially watching the voice-over recordings. It was a good experience for them to see the production side of programs. I also like the extras include more signs to learn. Rose is really into Bonus Features right now!

This is a quick video of my girls’ completely absorbed in Signing Time! Take a minute to watch and you’ll see just how fun this has been for them!

 

And NOW for the freebie! As an exclusive gift for my readers is the Homeschool Guide e-book! Click the image to start your download! This exclusive guide is a great start to help you see just how easily Signing Time can fit into your homeschool day. 
Disclaimer
I received Signing Time: Welcome to School in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. No other compensation was received.