Sign Language Story Time Video Play List and Sign Language for Your Día Program!

A frequent question I get from teachers and librarians is, "How do you physically hold a book and sign along with it?"

I've modeled how to do this in several different videos over the years, and I recently organized these videos in a Sign Language Story Time Playlist. You can access that playlist here:



If Sign Language Story Time is something you'd like to do more of, you might also be interested in my Start to Finish Story Time series of posts where I provide lesson plans to make it easier for you to do your own Sign Language Story Time.

And, for those of you interested in incorporating Sign Language into your upcoming Día or other intercultural /literacy-focused programming, here is a link to some great free resources to help you plan your own sign language-themed event at your own school or library.

Speaking of which, I'd love to compile a list of libraries that are featuring American Sign Language and/or Deaf Culture in their Día Events. (If you're not familiar with Día, according to the American Library Association, "Día is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds." You can find out more at the Día website).

If you are incorporating ASL and/or Deaf Culture into your Día programming, please share your plans in the comment section below or in the contact form to the left.

Happy Signing!

Top Tips and Tricks for Signing with Your Baby: Summary Post

In past posts, I've shared some of my Top Tips and Tricks for Signing with your baby or young child. I thought it might be helpful to compile a summary of those posts and some instructional videos to go along with it. Here are the links to my Top Tips:

Tip #1: Use Signs Liberally, But Select One or Two Key Signs to Focus On at a Time 

Tip #2: Resist the Temptation to Focus Only on Signs that Gratify You

Tip #3: Follow Your Child's Lead

And here are the links to my video playlist,"Tips and Tricks for Signing with Your Baby or Young Child":



Keep checking back, and/or bookmark this summary post, as more tips (and maybe even more videos) will be added over time!

And . . . if these tips are helpful to you, I suggest you also give my series, Quick Ideas for Getting Started with Signing a look as well. 

Happy Signing! 

New Sign Language Videos Featuring Yours Truly

A couple of months ago, one of the libraries I work with invited me to visit their studio and film some videos that incorporate sign language. They've now started uploading these videos to their YouTube channel.  The librarian who coordinated the project observed the filming process and assured me that it all went well, but I've been nervous waiting to see how the videos would turn out. I've now watched the first three, and I'm pleasantly surprised.

Don't get me wrong. I'm an expert at self-critique. There are all kinds of nitty-picky things I can find to distress about in each video, but when I look at the videos as a whole, I'm happy with the end result. I'm pleased that I have something like this to share with my readers, clients, and other folks who might have an interest in sign language. I'm excited that I have one more tool in my toolbox that might inspire someone to learn and use sign language to help their pre-verbal baby communicate, or to enrich their story time or to incorporate sign language into other learning opportunities at home or in the classroom.

I have a longstanding teaching and consulting business, and I present regularly at schools and libraries. As a result, I've had several of my school visits and other presentations filmed over the years. For some reason, I was more nervous than usual leading up to this particular project. Truth be told, I rarely get nervous before presentations. I thrive on the opportunity to teach and present, but I tossed and turned restlessly the night before we were scheduled to film for this project. The only reason for this that I can come up with is that I love this library (and the librarians who work there) so much. I did not want to disappoint them in any way. They tell me they're pleased. I hope you will be, too.

Please join me in thanking the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District for inviting me to participate in this project as well as ABDO Publishing Group for publishing the books in the Story Time with Signs and Rhymes series featured in the videos. Here are the first three videos:

Sing and Sign with Your Baby:



Play and Sign with Your Baby:



"The Nest Where I Like to Rest:"



As new videos are added, you will be able to find them on the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District's YouTube channel as well as my own YouTube channel.

Happy Signing!