Anthony and Grandma
Little Mama
Yea!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
American Sign Language and what we do
Because we are involved in the deaf community, we realize there are many more competent people to teach American Sign Language-like Deaf people! We're not teaching a language. We are providing ASL signs that hearing parents can use to communicate and connect with their hearing children. We have already inspired one mom to continue learning more signs, and referred her to our friend Andrea who teaches ASL at USC. Learning any foreign language at an early age increases the brains ability to learn new languages later-we're hoping we're creating a whole generation that will go to school and demand to learn ASL instead of French or German.
More about us
Cara and Joy have been involved with the deaf community and worked with deaf children for many years. Cara was a classroom teacher for deaf middle school kids for over 11 years and now serves as the lead teacher/consultant for the deaf education program in Richland One. She has been married to Mike, who happens to be Deaf, for 8 1/2 years. They adopted their daughter from Russia and, of course, signed with her. She signed her first word after being in America a little over a month! With all her early upheaval and multiple ear infections, she's had to take speech classes, but her language has been assessed at 9 months above her peers-we know that is from the immediate and constant access to language through sign language.
Joy was working at a local hospital and filled a need to assist with a camp for deaf kids in the Midlands. She immediately began taking sign classes and hanging out with the deaf community. This was actually how Joy and Cara met-volunteering to plan and work at Camp WonderHands. Joy's involvement did not stop there. She quickly became the co-director for camp, spending much time during the year planning, doing public awareness events and raising money. When she became a mother for the first time, it was a given that her daughter would sign-as she does! She daughter is 2 1/2 now and not only talks in sentences well above her peers, but continually asks "How do you say that with your hands?" Her son, a little over 1 year old, is already signing multiple words, of course his first word was MILK-a boy's gotta eat!
Joy was working at a local hospital and filled a need to assist with a camp for deaf kids in the Midlands. She immediately began taking sign classes and hanging out with the deaf community. This was actually how Joy and Cara met-volunteering to plan and work at Camp WonderHands. Joy's involvement did not stop there. She quickly became the co-director for camp, spending much time during the year planning, doing public awareness events and raising money. When she became a mother for the first time, it was a given that her daughter would sign-as she does! She daughter is 2 1/2 now and not only talks in sentences well above her peers, but continually asks "How do you say that with your hands?" Her son, a little over 1 year old, is already signing multiple words, of course his first word was MILK-a boy's gotta eat!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Welcome to our new home!
This is our place for all things related to the sign language classes offered by Joy and Cara as Sign4Me, Baby!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)