Introduction to Tot School Workshop | San Antonio, Texas

I am so passionate about equipping parents to be their child's BEST teacher--join us on May 17th for this great time of community!

Registration for this class is now closed. Another session will be coming soon!

Tot School: Use What You've Got & Put It All Together

Wow, what a week! I truly hope this peek into my planning process has been helpful for you. I've enjoyed sharing my experience of planning a new class with you!

How to plan a fun learning experience for your kiddos:
Day 1: Make a theme list. Choose your first theme. (I picked SPRING.)
Day 2: Choose your books and request them from the library.

Day 3: Find printables, crafts, and activities to match the theme.

Day 4: Pull items from around your house and create activities.
Day 5: REST! (preferably with chocolate)

I teach signing classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I usually start thinking about my next theme and requesting books on Thursdays. I research over the weekend and prep new items on Mondays after the girls go to bed. Tuesday afternoon is a chance for me to dry-run the craft with my own girls, so that I'll have a sample or two to show parents. (We do crafts during center time, so my girls have plenty of activities to keep them busy during this part of class.)

Without further ado, here is the lesson plan for my SPRING-themed class:

* Song: Baby Signing Time theme
* Family introductions (if necessary) & updates
* Introduce signs: spring/garden, dirt, seed, plant, flower, sun, water, grow, rain, worm
* Book: I See Spring by Charles Ghigna
* Song: Sunny Day by Elizabeth Mitchell
* Movement break: The Ants Go Marching
* Game: SPRING Bingo
* Book: Wake Up, It's Spring by Lisa Campbell Ernst
* Song: Grow Little Seed by Rachel Coleman
* Movement break: Fingers, Nose and Toes by Cedarmont Kids
* Song: Colors of the Rainbow by Rachel Coleman
* Craft & Centers (picture and details coming soon)
     Flower Fingerpainting
* Clean-Up Song
* Bubbles
* Parachute
* ABC Song
* Review (5 Spring Flowers) & Questions
* Song: The More We Get Together by Cedarmont Kids

I'm excited to have some new center ideas! My students range from 18 months to 5 years, so it's important to have a variety of activities that will meet each child's developmental needs and give every family an opportunity to practice their new signs.

Spring Centers:
Yellow & purple eggs: sound matching (six pairs of eggs with various objects inside)
Blue & yellow dry erase pockets: addition practice & fingerspelling page for the Kindergartners
Orange, blue & green eggs: build-a-word with magnetic letters (toddlers can practice letter recognition)
Pattern block templates: bird, rabbit, flower, sun (reversible)
Craft stick "puzzle" with red, yellow, and orange ABC pattern
Flower arranging
Pom-pom color sorting with tongs
Flower count & clip cards with clothespins

What We Offer: Graduate Classes | Baby Sign Language Classes, San Antonio, Texas

From the very beginning of Lone Star Signers, I have endeavored to make our class culture distinct from other paid children’s activities in the San Antonio area. That is why you’ll find classes are priced per family, not per child. We also chose a price point that would allow families with one income (like ours) to participate. And once students graduate from our program, we encourage them to keep coming back.

When families commit to 14 weeks of Play & Sign classes, we want them to know how much we value that choice. Four months is a long time in a toddler’s life!

We have been excited to see the genuine community that is built in class each week. Children have become playmates, parents have become friends, and the overall feeling of “we’re in this together” support has been unlike any other group I have been a part of. Our families are amazing, and of course we want to continue spending time with them!

Graduate Program

After four months of Play & Sign classes, our young graduates have a brief ceremony that includes Pomp & Circumstance and balloons. There’s a photo-op with mini-diplomas and a “Class of 20—“ banner on the wall. In addition, students are given a Graduate Pass: good for a steep discount on future “undergraduate” classes and access to exclusive monthly Graduate-only classes.

When you attend a Play & Sign class, you will find there is a healthy mix of families who are participating for the first time and families who have been attending for two or three sessions. One of our current students is actually our FIRST student who began way back in the summer of 2012. As you can imagine, signing class has different benefits for a child that just turned one and one that is nearing her third birthday!

We love watching our grads reach new milestones in their development. And as our first group of graduates continues to grow older, we hope that the Preschool Sign & Learn classes will become a regular feature on the Lone Star Signers class schedule.

If you have any question about Play & Sign classes, the benefits of signing with children, or our graduate program, don’t hesitate to contact me!

NEW: Preschool Sign & Learn | Lone Star Signers, San Antonio

I am thrilled to announce our upcoming Preschool Sign & Learn classes! I am passionate about early education, and I firmly believe that American Sign Language is a powerful tool for young learners. (Read more about the benefits of signing.)

Preschool Sign & Learn classes start with the same awesome base curriculum as Play & Sign classes, but are tailored specifically for children ages 3-5. We use the same books, same songs, and same signs, but add a much greater emphasis on ABCs, numbers, colors, and fine-motor skills to prepare your young child for Kinder/1st grade. 

This Friday, I will be teaching a trial Preschool Sign & Learn class on transportation ("Here I Go!"). I taught this theme to my younger Play & Sign students earlier in the week, but here are a few of the preschool activities we'll be using with older children, based on the books We All Go Traveling By, Freight Train, and Bear Takes a Trip.

Learning centers are an integral part of our class time. They allow parents to practice ASL signs with their preschoolers and give me an opportunity to offer support/answer questions one on one. My goal is to give parents a variety of simple learning activities that they can use at home during the week.

1) Pom-Pom Counting  (top picture): 

One-to-one correspondence is an important skill for 4 and 5-year-olds. Using the pictures of vehicles and fuzzy pom poms, children have a chance to practice counting with meaningful manipulatives.

2) Count & Clip Cards (top picture): 

I love when activities cover more than one skill. These cards are perfect for early mathematicians, and squeezing the clothespins gives children a chance to work their hand muscles, preparing them for holding a pencil down the road.

3) Simple Puzzles (above):

Transitioning from wooden peg puzzles to 24-piece interlocking puzzles builds visual discrimination and problem-solving skills for early readers.

4) Imaginative Play (above):

This article about the changes in Kindergarten has really encouraged me to give both my children and students ample time for imaginative play. Using small vehicles and wooden blocks to build a small town is the perfect activity for spatial reasoning and teamwork.

5) ABC Train Puzzle (above):

Letter recognition is important! Using a fun, themed puzzle gives parents a chance to evaluate which letters need more practice.

6) PlayDoh and Cookie Cutters (above):

PlayDoh is important for building muscles in the hands and is a great sensory experience for young children. I know I'm hesitant to pull it out and make a mess, but my girls always have a great time.

7) Math Games (below):

I always love to include at least one whole-class game in each class. Learning to take turns and encourage friends are important social skills! This particular game comes from my daughter's Kindergarten math curriculum--setting up a matrix of items (sorting by color and attributes) and then taking turns removing one of the items. (While taking this picture, I called my 5-year-old over and she could immediately tell me which one was missing.)

Registration for Preschool Sign & Learn classes is currently closed. Add your name to the waiting list! 

* $70/parent-child pair includes tuition for 7 weeks of classes, materials, and a Signing Time DVD of family's choosing; a non-refundable payment of $40 is due upon registration, followed by one additional payment of $30

* TWO identical class times: Tuesday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday mornings at 11:15 a.m. (45 minute class) | near 10 & Huebner on the North Central side of town

* Class minimum of three students. Class will be capped at six students. 

Which of these activities would you choose to do with your child?

Baby Signing Classes: What to Expect | Lone Star Signers

When I joined the Signing Time Academy back in March 2012, I had no idea what our community would look like two years later. Twenty awesome families from San Antonio have graduated from our Play & Sign classes--I am truly honored to have a role in their child's early education!

Many families write to me each week asking for more information about our baby sign language classes, so here is what I typically share:

* My name is Melissa Droegemueller and I am a Baby Signing Time Instructor with the Signing Time Academy. Before becoming a mother, I was a classroom teacher in both the public school system (Northside ISD in San Antonio, TX) and private parochial setting (Kansas City, MO). I graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2001 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education (specialization: Reading). My years in the classroom were magical, and my passion for teaching has only increased in the past 12 years.

* I am married to an amazing man, and we have two beautiful daughters (ages 5 and 2). Our older daughter is being homeschooled for Kindergarten, and her little sister is learning right along with her!

* I teach three sign language classes weekly, with the possibility of a fourth (preschool-level) class starting next month. Classes are offered on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings.

* I am certified as a Baby Signing Time Instructor (ages birth-5 years) with the Signing Time Academy, the educational division of Two Little Hands Productions (creators of the award-winning programs Signing Time, Baby Signing Time, Potty Time, and Rachel and the Treeschoolers).

* Our older daughter was born extremely prematurely (26 weeks) in 2008. We spent the first 135 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the next three years in doctors' offices and various therapies. Addie began speech therapy when she was 18 months old (15 months adjusted)--it was our Speech and Language Pathologist that recommended we use American Sign Language (and Signing Time DVDs, specifically) with her as a bridge to verbal communication. By the time Addie turned 3.5, she was recognizing over 50 words that she could sign, and she has been actively reading books since shortly after her fourth birthday. With my educational background, I have no qualms giving the credit for her early reading to sign language!

* Our signing classes are for ALL children, whether they are hearing or deaf, exhibiting signs of speech delay or apraxia or early talkers! I have been down the Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) route, and I firmly believe that using ASL with your child works beautifully in conjunction with speech therapy. Many families come to us simply looking for a fun, interactive, educational experience for the whole family, while others may have deeper concerns.

* Classes are casual and family-centered! Parents are encouraged to sit down on the floor with their children and model the signs as they are being taught. My children are in attendance, and my husband is typically here for the evening class. We love it when both parents are able to come--and if Grandma is visiting, bring her along, too! Our space is not huge, so we often limit class size for comfort.

* We encourage families to build relationships with each other, both in class and in "real life." There is a warm family environment in all classes; it's not unusual to see a child sitting in another parent's lap! Many of our families continue to attend class even after graduation, so the community that is being built here is really genuine.

* As I mentioned earlier, I am a passionate teacher with detailed lesson plans. However, students are young, ranging from young toddlers to older preschoolers--and each class looks a little bit different depending on the group of children, their moods, their nap schedule, and even the weather outside. :) Flexibility is key--active learning is the goal!

* Routine is important for young children, so our class does have a typical schedule that ebbs and flows each week. We open and close each class with the same songs. New signs are introduced at the beginning of class, and we practice our signs with stories and songs. We take frequent movement breaks--dancing, whole-class games, and more. Usually, we move from instruction-time to the family craft and learning centers. Each class features 5-6 educational activities for families to practice new signs and work on important literacy, math, and fine-motor skills. The last 10-15 minutes of class include bubbles, parachute play, ABC and color songs, and a brief review. Families are welcome to stay and participate in free play after our closing song.

* This time in our life is a joyous one. We treasure the relationships that are being built through signing classes! My goal is to help your family with your child's early education--don't hesitate to contact me with specific questions.

Preview: Mom's Book Club #3 | Lone Star Signers, San Antonio, TX

On Friday, February 7th, we'll be having our third meeting of the Lone Star Signers Mom's Book Club. So far, we've been fortunate to have pretty weather at our previous events--meeting at the park has been great for everyone!

I try to pick books that are easy to read, but still informative. Playful Learning has a ton of "simple activities to promote reading, writing, math, science, and social skills in children ages 4 to 8." (front cover)

Unfortunately, our library only has three copies of this book, so I am posting this early so I can get my copy back for other members of the Book Club. :) (If you are not local, feel free to read the book and share your thoughts with us--we'd LOVE to extend past the San Antonio city limit!)

Here are my "discussion starters"--feel free to come up with some of your own!

* Introduction: 
As a classroom-teacher-turned-homeschooling-mom, I find the background story of the author intriguing. It's interesting for me to see how far my thinking has come in the last five years, that this line on page 2 seems rather obvious to me: "...the curriculum of life, as experienced by children in their homes on a daily basis, is the most revolutionary teaching and learning that can take place." Um, yes--parents are GREAT teachers! Who knows our children better than us? :) Without getting (too) political, I just want to warn parents that today's schools are NOTHING like the schools we went to! Even the best teachers and administrators are losing their autonomy in their classrooms, and it's the children who are missing out.

* More from the Introduction (also page 2): 
"Current research demonstrates that children learn most effectively when they are actively engaged and enjoying themselves. Ironically, many of the conditions deemed most desirable for learning can be more readily be practiced at home than in school." You would think that this book is all about homeschooling, but the author intended for the activities included in the book to be supplemental to classroom learning. However you choose to use them, though, there are a ton of great ideas and I'm excited to implement a few with our girls!

* Still more Introduction: 
The first paragraph on page 3 really resonated with my personality type. :) "I found that I needed to put my agenda aside and just be with my daughters." I think the author and I could be kindred spirits after all. (Name that book!)

* Playful Learning Spaces: 
There are so many great, practical ideas in this section--I would love for you to share some of your playful learning areas on the Facebook event page! I'm planning on adding a family mail station to our home soon. What jumped out at you?

* Chapter 1 | Nurturing Young Authors:
My favorite college textbook was The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins. The book is sitting on my bookshelf in the classroom area of our home, and I still read it at least once a year. How wonderful, then, to find a quote from Ms. Calkins to start off this chapter!

I created a writer's notebook as described by Ms. Calkins (and on p. 46 of this book) when I was a college student--I actually have two from my classroom days packed away in a box. I need to go journal shopping with Addie so that we can begin to tuck away the treasures of our days. I cannot wait for her to be just a tiny bit older so that she can fall in love with writing, too.

We just completed the From the Heart activity listed on p. 43. Addie loved My Map Book, and we had a grand time listing her favorite things on a large poster of her heart. We'll definitely be making a mini-map for the front of her writer's notebook.

***I have compiled a list of favorite activities from (almost) every chapter--those that seemed most interesting & feasible for our family. I'll look forward to hearing about YOUR list at Book Club!

Melissa

*Affiliate links have been used in this post. Please view my disclosure policy for more information.*

Class Schedule: 1st Quarter 2014 | Lone Star Signers

Baby Bounce & Sign (4-12 months)

Wednesday mornings, 9:00-9:30 a.m.
6 week session--read here for more!

Family Play & Sign (birth-5 years)

Tuesday evenings, 6:00-7:00 p.m. 
Wednesday mornings, 10:00-11:00 a.m.

14 week session--read here for more!

Preschool Sign & Learn (3-5 years)

Tuesday afternoons, 4:00-4:45 p.m. 
Wednesday mornings, 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

7 week session--read here for more!

Registration for classes is currently closed. Our next session begin in May! Join us!

Preview: Mom's Book Club #2 | Lone Star Signers, San Antonio, Texas

THURSDAY is our second meeting of the Lone Star Signers Mom's Book Club, and I am so excited about this pick!

From Amazon: "An antidote to our stressed-out mother culture, MotherStyles validates the notion that good mothering comes in many styles...Drawing on the personality type-theory popularized by the Myers-Briggs(r) Type Indicator and author Janet Penley's more than eighteen years of working with mothers, MotherStyles explains the combinations of traits that make up sixteen distinct mothering approaches... Penley helps readers identify which style reflects her own strengths, struggles, and needs and, from there, offers unique and concrete ideas for ways to overcome the parenting challenges inherent to each type. Guiding mothers to an understanding of how type affects parent-child interactions and family dynamics, MotherStyles will help moms everywhere to recharge their batteries, and find success in this most important of roles.

If you're planning on attending on Thursday, here are some discussion starters for you to ponder:
* Read the Introduction. Do you identify with the myth of the ideal mother?
* What did you think of the descriptions of each preference in Chapter 1? Did any of the qualities jump out at you?
* Do you feel like "Your Unique Style" on page 17 accurately describes you?
* Chapter 4 details the differences between "Thinking" and "Feeling" personalities. I'm curious, as a group of women with mostly homeschooling/attachment parenting leanings, how many of us lean more toward "Feeling."
* Chapter 8 talks about the personality core. Is there anyone in your family life that you share a "core" with?
* Did you "type" your husband and children? :)
* Chapter 11 & 13 are my favorites--if you need to skip a few middle chapters, be sure to read these two!

Mostly, I'm curious: did this book change your parenting or the way you look at one of your children? See you Thursday!

Lone Star Signers Class Schedule: January 2014 | San Antonio Baby Sign Language

View our current class schedule here: http://lonestarsigners.com/classes/

Increasing Literacy in Your Home | San Antonio Baby Sign Language Classes

I have been a mom for nearly 5.5 years now, and for the last two years, I have had a reader in the home. I have had a few people over the years ask me what I've done to teach Addie to read, and I promise you that it's not false modesty when I say, "Nothing. She taught herself to read." That's the honest truth--I'm not sure I would have chosen to have my oldest child reading picture books independently (not simple readers like, "The cat sat on the mat.") at the age of 3.5. I've had to explain quite a few "older" concepts to her and it's tricky finding material that is both age-appropriate and interesting to her.

Before I was a mom, I was an elementary school teacher with a specialization in reading...and before that, I was the bookworm kid that carried a paperback with me everywhere I went. (I devoured my sister's school copy of The Grapes of Wrath in middle school while we were on vacation because I read all of my library books by the second day. I don't say that to brag, I just want you to know that, to me, reading as essential as breathing. I can't NOT read something if you put it in front of me.)

I was fortunate to have awesome professors in college that not only talked about the importance of reading aloud in our classrooms--they actually modeled it for us by reading to us at the end of each class. (An entire class of college juniors crying through Because of Winn-Dixie together!)

As a young, single teacher, I spent most of my extra income building up an amazing classroom library. I would spend Saturdays at Borders (RIP, my favorite bookstore) and Half-Price Books and then start the new school week introducing my new finds to my sweet class. When Adam and I got married and moved into our first apartment together, I had no less than ten boxes labeled "CHILDREN'S BOOKS." 

During my short pregnancy with Addie, I brought a stack of picture books to bed with me each night and read to my sweet little girl. When she was born 14 weeks early, I carried in a huge tote of books to keep by her isolette for her visitors and nurses to read aloud. It was weeks before I was able to hold her, but that didn't keep us from reading Ramona the Pest together.

We read all kinds of books together during Kangaroo Care and during our long hours together in the months before she was discharged. Once she came home, we surrounded her with board books to look at and chew on. Her first gifts were books that are still treasured five years later!

So, it's probably completely obvious, but my first tip for increasing literacy in your room is to have a lot of children's books available at all times and to use them regularly. Brilliant, right? I'm quite sure you're already doing that, or you probably wouldn't be reading this blog post. (But just in case...)

What else has worked for us?

• We go to the library all the time. At least twice a week, but usually more. I keep a running wish list of books that have been recommended to me on the library website (fabulous hold system, except you can only request up to 25 items at any time), so sometimes we just run in, while other times we take our time and browse the children's section.
• We play with words and letters all day long. Magnetic letters, sensory letters (I'll post on these soon.), letter puzzles, etc. We bought these awesome Melissa and Doug letter stamps that I cannot wait to start using with our writing work. We also love to play word games in the car: nursery rhymes and nonsense rhymes have really helped our little reader be able to "guess" which word will come at the end of a sentence.



Signing Time DVDS screenshot.

• We watch TV/videos with the captions on. I've been doing it for years (so many shows have awful sound), and I think it contributed to Addie's early reading. She has a gift for hearing & seeing something once and having it memorized. I also think that's a huge benefit of the Signing Time programs: the written word is on the screen with an image while an adult voice speaks. It's a trifecta for little brains! My two-year-old can already "read" her Signing Time books with the image cues and I know it won't be long before she moves from reading letters to recognizing words.

Post by Lone Star Signers.

• We're skipping "teach your child to read" programs in favor of lots and lots of lap time. I'll admit, I have a super-hard time with easy readers because they are SO boring. I'd much rather read harder material to my girls out loud than listen to them sound out each word so slowly that they completely miss the gist of the story. (Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, my Kindergartner just up and started reading sentences one day, so I don't mean to discount any programs that you may be using at home.) I plan on circling back through phonics in first and second grade through our spelling lessons.
• We utilize a "Room Time" playlist. I was inspired by this post from another homeschooling mama, and so I use a free recording app () while reading books, poems, and famous nursery rhymes for my girls. I've mixed them together with some of our favorite songs from Signing Time and this Discovery Toys CD for one or both of the girls to listen to while playing with blocks or trains. 
• We speak highly of reading in our home and our children SEE us reading for pleasure, too. I'm a big fan of all kinds of technology and I love my Kindle app, but I still prefer sitting on the couch with a new library book and getting lost in the pages for an hour or so. My girls see me CHOOSE to read for fun each and every day...and we treat books as a reward rather than punishment. 

It makes me so sad to hear parents say (especially in front of their children), "Johnny hates to read." If your child is a reluctant reader, I highly suggest that you find reading material that interests him/her and go out of your way to make it a pleasurable experience. Let your child stay up late with a flashlight. Sit next to each other and make it FUN. Learning is a lifelong journey and reading is the primary mode of transportation along the path of discovery.

Can you think of any early literacy tips I missed? Do you have any questions for me? What are the favorite books in your home right now?

Round-Up: Thanksgiving in American Sign Language | San Antonio Baby Sign Language

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! We picked up our turkey at the grocery store yesterday and my husband is all set to make his famous French Silk Chocolate Pie. (He actually bought five pie crusts this year. Yum!) We'll be celebrating on Thursday with lunch at the retirement community where my husband works AND dinner with my extended family. We'll also be cooking our own Thanksgiving feast on Saturday (my husband LOVES his turkey leftovers) while we put up the Christmas tree. :)

In case you are looking for signs for some of the most common Thanksgiving words, I've compiled some ASL videos for you to enjoy! 

First, from Signing Time:

Next, from the new and awesome ASL Nook (no sound: be sure to turn the captions on):

Finally, from Signing Hawaii:

You may notice that signs vary by teacher/region. When in doubt, you can always fingerspell the word! And if you didn't see a sign you're looking for, I always recommend "Dr. Bill" from Lifeprint.

From our family to yours, we wish you all a very HAPPY Thanksgiving!
Melissa from Lone Star Signers

Oh, and if you're wanting to do some shopping this week, don't miss out on the amazing Signing Time sale!

New Class! Baby Bounce & Sign | Baby Sign Language in San Antonio, TX

Baby Bounce & Sign Classes
Lone Star Signers | San Antonio, Texas

Lone Star Signers presents: 

Baby Bounce & Sign Classes 

Wednesday mornings, 

9:00-9:30 a.m.

6 week course

North Central San Antonio, 

I-10 & Huebner

$45 per family 

(includes tuition, materials, & 

Baby Signing Time DVD + CD!)

Join us at facebook.com/LoneStarSigners!

Just like babies crawl before they walk, they sign before they talk (pointing, blowing kisses, waving bye-bye, for example). For many children, signing is a bridge to verbal communication!

Baby Bounce & Sign Classes are full of songs, rhymes, and visual stimulation—perfect for the littlest signers, ages 4-12 months. Come connect with other parents, explore language play, and discover how easy it is to add ASL vocabulary into your day!

Registration is currently closed for this class. 

Our next round of classes will begin in July!

Introvert Mama, Extravert Child | Lone Star Signers, San Antonio, Texas

This post has moved! Follow the conversation here: http://lonestarsigners.com/2013/11/13/introvert-mama-extravert-child-lone-star-signers-san-antonio-texas/

Signing with Toddlers: Why WE Do It! | San Antonio Baby Sign Language Classes

I mentioned back in the summer that our 2 year old daughter was having a speech explosion, and yet we were choosing to continue signing with her. (You can click here to read that post for some ideas on HOW to move beyond baby signs with your own toddler.) Now that we are four months further down the road, I wanted to come back to that idea and tell you WHY we are still so thankful to be signing with our littlest girl.

Yesterday afternoon, we were at the park with my parents (who have just retired and moved less than 10 miles away!). Kate was busy, busy, busy climbing up the ladder to the big slide and zooming down. Our girl LOVES to slide and she must have gone up and down at least 30 times. And every time she would get to the bottom, she'd scoot off and say/sign, "AGAIN!" with the cutest smile on her face.

We weren't the only family at the slide...there were three other toddlers making the same rotation--climbing the stairs painstakingly slow and then zipping down to the bottom. It wasn't long before one of the other moms commented on Kate's signing--she said that her daughter had picked up the sign "more" as a baby, but they hadn't done much more signing than that.

When we're in public, I never, ever want people to feel like I'm giving an infomercial or trying to "sell" them something. But the simple truth is that we sign with our girls at home AND in public, and sometimes that prompts a short conversation. 

I told the mama that we signed with our older daughter first because she had a speech delay, but that Kate had been signed to from birth. Like all two year olds, Kate has an obsessive streak--she loves to try on shoes, and be read to, and she LOVES to watch Signing Time. (If she had the choice, she would watch the same episodes over and over all afternoon long.) This particular mom had never heard of Signing Time, so I was happy to tell her that she could find the DVDs at the library or download episodes to her mobile device. And then she said, "I'll have to remember that for our NEXT baby."

I was busy making sure that Kate didn't tumble off the slide and so I didn't get a chance to respond as eloquently as I would have liked. So, on the off chance that mama happens to read my blog, here's what I *should* have said to you! (And if YOU have children or grandchildren, please feel free to read along.)

There is NO reason that you can't start signing with the beautiful children you already have! Studies and anecdotal research have shown over and over again that there are countless benefits to signing with children of all ages and abilities. (See here and here.) American Sign Language is a beautiful language and you can start learning together today! Pick a handful of signs for foods, animals, or family members--find a book or a song with those words and practice, practice, practice. Signing with verbal children has immediate results!

Here are five reasons why WE sign with our toddler:

1. She WANTS to! Honestly, signing with Kate requires that we are consistent when we read books, sing songs, and play games. If we signed it once, she's going to expect that we sign it every time...and she's going to sign along, too.
2. It helps immensely with our communication. Yes, she is extremely verbal for her age, but there are a few times every hour that I have no idea what she is trying to tell me. And she will keep saying the same phrase over and over again until I respond, so it's a relief when she signs and I can finally understand!
3. Signing helps our girl notice details. ASL is a very precise language and I catch her frequently watching how I make a sign and then trying to replicate the sign herself. Not only does signing help with her visual discrimination, it is helping with her fine motor skills! She is isolating fingers to make the signs for letters and colors (y for yellow and p for purple are particularly tricky for even older, bigger hands).
4. She is LEARNING. Our older daughter has a strong auditory-visual learning style, and Kate appears to be a kinesthetic learner. In just a few short months, Kate has learned all of her colors, her ABCs (the song and many individual letters, too), and numbers 1-10. She "reads" her books to us, telling us the colors and names of animals that she sees on every page. Just a few minutes ago, she pointed the word family and said, "F!"--not only did she recognize the letter on the page, but she knows that the SIGN for family uses f hands. I love that our 2 year old is making connections between learning concepts through ASL!
5. Most importantly, signing is fun! We love to watch Signing Time together and we love to have friends over for signing class. Children want to MOVE and DANCE all the time--and American Sign Language gives them that opportunity to let their bodies do the talking!

Signing is not something that your children outgrow just because they have started speaking! It's NEVER too late to start!

And just for fun, here's a video of Kate singing and signing along with Rainbow Song (from Signing Time) earlier this week!

Post by Lone Star Signers.

One Activity, Many Ways: Muffin Tin & Counters | San Antonio Baby Sign Language Classes

Time for another installment of my favorite feature: "One Activity, Many Ways"! As I mentioned last time, my main goal with learning activities for my students (and my own girls) is to be able to create a large number of learning games with the same materials. We just don't have the space for 100 games in our home!

One of my signing class students' favorite things to play with is this simple muffin tin. It's small enough that it fits into my center basket with ease and it stores without taking up a ton of space. And it makes a fun metal sound when they drop something heavy into it!

This week, I paired the muffin tin with my set of animal counters (similar). I have had these counters FOREVER and they are still in great shape. There are five colors and five types of animals (bears, dogs, cats, turtles, and dinosaurs).

Many times when I include these items in a student center, I will leave it open ended. It's fun to see how students choose to play with the materials.

Lots of times, children will sort by color all on their own!

Or sometimes, they will sort by animal type!

You can guide their play by putting simple colored circles in each of the sections for children to match.

Or, if you're working on counting, you could put numbers in each section.

Of course, one of my favorite ways to play (with older children), is to work on sight words. You can either write color or number words on a neutral piece of paper or use a transitional clue by using colored markers or drawing dots for numbers.

Can you think of other ways to encourage play with a muffin tin and animal counters? Share below!

Wrap-Up: Mom's Book Club { 1st Meeting }

Yesterday, we met up with three mamas and six kiddos for our first meeting of the Lone Star Signers | Mom's Book Club! We met at Orsinger Park on Huebner Road, which was full of lovely shade and a wonderfully cool breeze. Our eight children ran off to play and we sat down at a picnic table to watch and chat.

Our first discussion centered around the book Reading Magic by Mem Fox.


Mem has written some of my favorite children's books (Where is the Green Sheep?, Time For Bed, Koala Lou) and I first read this book when my oldest daughter was just a wee little thing in the NICU five years ago.

Reading this book a second time showed me how much I've grown and changed as a mom. Now that we're homeschooling, some of my educational ideals have shifted and I found myself disagreeing with some of the points in the book (namely, the idea that parents should NEVER TEACH their children before they begin school--learning should be all fun and games, etc.) I understand her point that children shouldn't be forced to "do school" before they are ready for it--but as Veronica said, Mem's tone seemed a little polarizing.

Overall, I would definitely still recommend this book to parents--it is full of wonderful tips and research about reading aloud and it's definitely quick and easy to get through in the short bursts of time that we as parents have for reading.

Have you read the book? I'd love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below. :)
And coming next week, some of our favorite books to read aloud!

One Activity, Many Ways: Brown Bear, Brown Bear | San Antonio Baby Sign Language Classes

As many of y'all know, I teach three classes of basic American Sign Language every week. My classes are family-centered, so I have a wide age range of children who attend each session--from four months to nearly 12 years old! (Play & Sign classes are geared toward children ages birth-five and we love having older siblings attend! Sign language is great for ALL ages. :) )

After 20-25 minutes of whole class instruction, we break out into leveled centers. My goal is to have at least one center for each discipline: ABCs, colors, math, literacy, and fine motor. Many of my centers overlap disciplines (which is ideal!) and I try to buy/make things that can be used in multiple classes.

(After about 10 minutes of center time, where families get to work together and practice their new signs, we all come back together for review, ABC time, games/parachute time and bubbles.)

Two weeks ago, we used the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? in our pet/animals class.

This book is PERFECT for learning signs for colors and animals, since the text is repetitive and the illustrations are so unique. (We LOVE Eric Carle!)

I had downloaded a great Brown Bear math/literacy packet from Kinderkids over on Teachers Pay Teachers--over 100 pages of great ideas printables for preschool-2nd grade for just $1. Definitely worth it!

As we were playing with one of the activities this morning (after reading another book about a bear), I realized I wanted to share all my ideas, in case any of my students' parents were looking for busy bag activities for home.

This activity is awesome and SIMPLE. I printed off the bear/numeral pages and the number word pages (in black and white--I thought they were plenty cute without color), cut them out, and ran them through our laminator. I also printed off a recording page (tucked in a dry erase sleeve from the Target Dollar Spot to save ink and be reused many, many times) and a helper page for my early readers, who may need additional support with the number words.

Ages 4-7: Children can play a matching game for the numeral/word cards and then write down the word on the recording sheet. (I put the "helper" page on the backside in case the child wanted to check his work independently.) 

Younger children can sequence the numeral cards without having to worry about the word cards at all. (Of course, I think number words are some of the MOST IMPORTANT sight words to learn early--it's not like you can "sound out" the words eight or one.)

 

Older children looking for a challenge can arrange the word cards in ABC order. This was super hard for me to do, since my brain is wired to put these words in number order! :) 

And of course, don't forget to practice counting in ASL!

Disclosure: Affiliate link used for Brown Bear Amazon link. If you purchase the book through the link, I will make a teeny-tiny profit, which I will turn around and use to buy awesome products for my classes from Teachers Pay Teachers and Target. All items mentioned in this blog were purchased with my own money--Teachers Pay Teachers, Kinderkids, and Target have no idea who I am. :)

Thursday Class Wrap-Up: More, Diaper, Hurt

We had three absent families this week--we missed you all and can't wait to see you next week!

Session 1, Week 2 is a little bit of a mish-mash of all the miscellaneous (but necessary) signs that don't fit into the other three themes. :) It's really three classes in one!

First, we reviewed our food signs! It sounds like everyone is doing a great job practicing at home. :)

Next, we went over the signs in one of my very favorite books, Bear Wants More.



We sang The Bear Went Over the Mountain. (Here's the sign for mountain.)

We played Hide and Seek with our bears and blankets, using the sign for WHERE.

We practiced our colors.



Then we read Where is the Green Sheep?, a seriously great book for practicing all kinds of signs! Click here to hear the author (Mem Fox) read the book out loud.



We learned the signs for hurt, diaper, and potty and practiced them with our rhymes and the song Diaper Dance.

We practiced MORE with bubbles. :)

Next week: PETS!
Evening session students, check your email this weekend for our make-up date (I'm thinking Wednesday).

Thanks for making my Thursdays AWESOME. And Happy Mother's Day to each one of you. <3

*This post does contain affiliate links. 

I enjoyed these books and wanted to share them with my students and their families. *