Unsolicited Signing Time Commercial
What Rilla’s saying at the end there is “With Alex, Leah, and Hopkins.” Totally unprompted, I swear.
When I watched our Christmas 2005 video the other day, the bit that gave me the biggest pang of nostalgia was watching Wonderboy signing away. He hardly signs at all anymore, now that he talks so much. I’m thrilled with his verbal speech, but I really miss the signing. It’s funny to think back on how much ASL dominated our lives (in a rich and satisfying way) for a couple of years there, and now our use and pursuit of sign language has slipped to the back burner, becoming something of a hobby rather than a daily necessity. Jane still wants to certify as an ASL interpreter someday, and every few months we pull out our materials and learn another chunk of vocabulary and grammar. There are community college courses we might take next year. It’s a beautiful and important language, and I don’t want to let it go, even if our boy doesn’t need rely on it for communication the way he once did.
And of course the Signing Time DVDs remain in great demand with my little people, as the video above attests. With Rilla, we’re seeing all the benefits of sign language we saw with the first three girls—because rudimentary ASL was a part of our baby & toddler life from the get-go, long before we had a Wonderboy or knew he had hearing loss.
Here are some old posts singing the praises of our favorite kiddie DVDs:
• It Must Be a Sign
• Something Else to Buy Instead of Curriculum: Signing Time
• Rilla Signs
• Signing with Babies, My Favorite Topic
nina says:
Oh more videos of your children, please. Twenty seconds of sweetness. Your voice sound a little bit like mine.
It is amazing and (well) wonderful that Wonderboy doesn’t need signing anymore. 🙂
On December 30, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Thanks, Nina!
We try to keep ASL fresh in his mind because I really want him to have fluency in that language for later in life (and times when he can’t wear his hearing aids, such as at the beach). That’s one reason I love these DVDs so much!
On December 30, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Jennifer says:
Aww, how sweet! I bought this for my 1yo niece for Christmas all because of you!
On December 30, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Plain Catholic says:
Thank you for bringing back memories of working with Special Needs children. They are truly blessings from God.
On December 30, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Meredith says:
Oh my are they cute or what!!! We love signing time, I’m sold :)))
On December 30, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Penny in VT says:
No wonder you smile so much, they are SO FIERCELY CUTE!
Is is possible to start this with older kids, say 7 and 10?
You really should get a commission…:)
On December 31, 2008 at 7:54 am
Melissa Wiley says:
Is it possible to start w/ older kids? ABSOLUTELY!
The first 3 Signing Time DVDs are pretty young–I’d recommend looking for them at the library rather than buying them for kids your kids’ age, because older kids will pick up that vocab in one or two viewings. Numbers 4, 5, 6 are a bit older in tone and to this day remain our family favorites. Great music, loads of useful words.
Alex & Leah, the kids in the series, get older in each one. By now I think they must be around 8/9 and 10/11 themselves. All my kids have enjoyed watching the new ones–just not a zillion times over like my wee ones.
ASL is now accepted as a foreign language in many universities, and a certified interpreter has many many employment options. A friend of mine in Charlottesville VA is a stay-at-home mom who happens to be an ASL interpreter. Whenever Monticello needs a sign interpreter for one of their tours, they give her a call! How fun would that be?
On December 31, 2008 at 8:02 am
Jane Wiley says:
Dear Melisa,
You are a blessing…
As a child I lost a major portion of my hearing…
The events in my life have prepared me to help Children with Special Needs learn how to communicate in sign language.
I’m encouraging your daughter “Jane” to coninue learning ASL.
A note of interest… as you travel throughout the United States and the World… you will find that each section of the country and other nations… will often sign in different ways…
Recently… I was told that many schools designed for the hearing impaired are now turning more towards teaching the child how to communicate without the use of sign language… I think the child should learn how to communicate through sign and voice…
Melissa…have you heard about “Sign Art” the interpretation of music through sign language…
Sign Art is a beautiful way to see a picture… of a song… through the interpretation in sign language…
Sincerely,
Jane Wiley
Tennessee
On December 31, 2008 at 4:02 pm