I can't say enough about this company. In October I blogged about one of their videos "Waiting on the World to Change." What an important video it really is and it makes quite the statement. Below is another one of their awesome videos set to the Christina Aguilera song, "Beautiful." A very incredible and impressive video. D-Pan again makes another awesome statement with "Beautiful." ASL is such an important part of my family's life. The videos produced by D-Pan truly speak to my soul. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
So thankful...
There are many things in life that I am very thankful for. Above all -- my kids. However, I am also quite thankful for American Sign Language. Learning this language never would have happened if my youngest child had not been born with hearing loss. I have learned how to listen with my eyes and open myself up to a whole new world. My family embraced ASL. Believe me there are days that I wish I could just push a button and turn my ears off to the world around me. I think of the "If this hadn't happened" type things and I know that if I hadn't been meant to be at an ice arena holding a child wearing a very obvious pink and white hearing aid, I never would have met a deaf woman who would tell me about something that would change my family's life. That something was a DVD series by the name of Signing Time!
Signing Time came into our lives when I just didn't have answers. At that point there were only 2 Baby Signing Time videos and volumes 1-6 of series 1. There are now 32 (oh I hope that is right) videos in all. There are flash cards, books and music, as well as letter and number wall posters. This is such an incredible series. I have watched my children blossom from this series. Sophia's language skills just exploded. She was signing so much. She had so much to say. Sabrina couldn't soak up the information fast enough. My oldest two loved sitting down and watching this series. We would practice what we were learning by turning off our voices. I then looked into becoming a retailer of this series. I was accepted into the retailer program. I love this series. I can't say enough about it. I have never taken any class beyond the family class which is offered 1 day a week, however I have tried to involve myself in the deaf community. I am constantly trying to improve my signing. In fact, I have been asked by two separate deaf women if indeed I was deaf. Both said they were really impressed by my ability to sign. Those were the greatest compliments that I could have ever received. The same has happened with my now 5 year old who gave the "appearance," with her ability to sign, of being deaf.
Oh, the places you'll go. And me, I owe quite a bit of it to Rachel Coleman, her sister, Emilie Brown, and a series called Signing Time! Thank you, Two Little Hands Productions! You have really inspired my family to go farther than we imagined possible.
Signing Time came into our lives when I just didn't have answers. At that point there were only 2 Baby Signing Time videos and volumes 1-6 of series 1. There are now 32 (oh I hope that is right) videos in all. There are flash cards, books and music, as well as letter and number wall posters. This is such an incredible series. I have watched my children blossom from this series. Sophia's language skills just exploded. She was signing so much. She had so much to say. Sabrina couldn't soak up the information fast enough. My oldest two loved sitting down and watching this series. We would practice what we were learning by turning off our voices. I then looked into becoming a retailer of this series. I was accepted into the retailer program. I love this series. I can't say enough about it. I have never taken any class beyond the family class which is offered 1 day a week, however I have tried to involve myself in the deaf community. I am constantly trying to improve my signing. In fact, I have been asked by two separate deaf women if indeed I was deaf. Both said they were really impressed by my ability to sign. Those were the greatest compliments that I could have ever received. The same has happened with my now 5 year old who gave the "appearance," with her ability to sign, of being deaf.
Oh, the places you'll go. And me, I owe quite a bit of it to Rachel Coleman, her sister, Emilie Brown, and a series called Signing Time! Thank you, Two Little Hands Productions! You have really inspired my family to go farther than we imagined possible.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Deaf Like Me
Last Friday there was an event at Delaware School for the Deaf in the evening. Signing Santa came and told a story and held all of the kids asking what they wanted for Christmas and letting them know that he would be visiting them very soon. The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with the play-doh, coloring, playing at the sand table, etc. Sophia has only visited DSD one other time and that was to go to the principal's office with me to drop something off there.
Visiting with Santa has never been very happy for Sophia. She likes him, but from a distance. Typically she wants nothing to do with Santa. Well, last night was no different. Then we sat down for story-time. Santa signed the story to the kids. Sophia was mesmerized by him. Afterwards, she wanted to give Santa a hug goodbye. She also got her picture taken with him. After we left, Sophia kept looking at me as she signed and said, "Mommy, Santa Claus is deaf like me!" She was so very happy. She finally made a connection with Santa. It is am impression I think will last a lifetime. She couldn't stop saying the same phrase over and over again. The kids dad had been out of town for the day, so he couldn't attend. All of the kids really missed him. And what was the first thing Sophia said to her dad? It certainly wasn't "Hi." or , "I missed you." Sophia, of course, had to give him the most important news of all for her -- "Daddy, Santa is deaf like me!!"
It's the little things like that that really make the difference.
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