Disclaimer: I am not bilingual in ASL. I took some courses in college (which seems like a million years ago now…)  I know I am not going to teach anyone to be fluent in ASL – as a fully formed language, there is no way I could do this.  But I view this program as a way to teach parents signs that they might find useful to use with their babies, as children can sign before they can speak.  I am teaching words, not grammar or culture.  I mean no disrespect to the Deaf community, and I welcome comments/ways to improve this service in a culturally respectful manner.

It seems like 2018 year just flew by!   And that is also what happens with the vehicles in this month’s theme for Signs n’ Storytime – Things that Go! (Ok, so some fly.  Some speed.  Some chugga chug.  You get what I meant though.)

SONG: “Hello Friends” in ASL

taken from Jbrary
I changed this one a little so instead of doing it time to “say” Hello, I sing, “it’s time to Sign Hello” and use the ASL word for sign

SONG: The Alphabet Song

We finger sign along to this one.  This was my second time adding this element in to the storytime, so I passed this handout out to the parents at storytime to help them follow along.

SIGNS USED DURING THIS PROGRAM:

Airplane 
Boat
Bus
Car 
Fast
Fire Truck
Friend 
Rocket 
Slow
Train 
Truck
Tunnel

BOOK:

Train by Judi Abbot

Signs used with the story:
Train
Airplane 
Car
Tunnel
Friend

FLANNELBOARD:
Fast or Slow

(Flannelboard pattern & rhyme from 2’s Experience Felt Board Fun by Liz & Dick Wilmes. Art by Janet McDonnell)

Have the vehicles behind the board.  Put one vehicle on the board at a time, and ask the audience if it goes fast or slow.  With each vehicle I put on the board, I grouped them together fast vehicles with fast vehicles, slow with slow, and mid-range in the middle. I didn’t use all the pieces shown for this one, but I have all those made.

Looking over a different blog post where I used this flannelboard, I forgot this time to move them across the board at the correct speed.  That would have made this a little more fun.

Signs used with this story:
Fast
Slow
Boat
Car
Fire Truck
Rocket 
Bus
Train
Airplane

MOVEMENT: If You’re Happy and You Know It

I sung this one acapella, and when we clap our hands we do the ASL version of clapping, we stomp our feet, and we pound our chest.  Whenever there is clapping in this storytime (at the end of a book, etc) we always do it the ASL way.

BOOK:

Zoom, Zoom, Baby! by Karen Katz

Signs used with story:
Boat
Bus
Airplane
Train
Truck
Car 

VIDEO:
 
“Four Friends Take a Trip” from Baby’s First-Word Stories: We Go!

Signs used with this story:
Airplane
Bus

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL IDEAS:

Book: My Bus by Byron Barton
(signs to use with story: car, drive, boat, train, plane)

Book: My Bike by Byron Barton
(signs to use with story: bike, truck, bus, car, unicycle)

Book: Old MacDonald’s Things That Go by Jane Clarke, illustrated by Migy Blanco
(signs to use with story: bike, truck, tractor, combine harvester, bus, boat, digger, fire truck, train, plane)

Book: Who is Driving? by Leo Timmers
(signs to use with story: fire truck, car, tractor, convertible, jeep, airplane)

Book: Bedtime Blastoff! by Luke Reynolds, illustrated by Mike Yamada
(signs to use with story: fire truck, car, tractor, convertible, jeep, airplane)

HOW IT WENT: This was a fun storytime.  The group was really small, but since I had no one for the December Signs ‘n Storytime, this seemed like a good turnout.  I’m not sure the flannelboard was the best choice for this group though — both the kids were younger infants, and since you need to interact with the flannelboard, it seemed like it might have been too much.

PRESENTED: Thursday, January 10 at LM Branch

ATTENDANCE: 4 people (adults and children)