Talking Fingers

And we are back!

2011-10-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

I kind of abandoned this blog when we put Short Stuff into the state deaf school here. But now that we are into the 2011-2012 school year we are back into homeschooling and I felt a renewed desire to work on this blog again. So for starters I would like to fill in where we left off.

So we put her in deaf school and she was there for her 5th and 6th grade years. Although there were many good things about the situation there were equally as many bad things. I'm not going to get into all that but just needed to say that we decided to bring her home again. I missed being a part of "her world". So we are now living and breathing "Shelby-ville" everyday.

But doing that, I have discovered how poorly I sign after two years of not much practice. And I have discovered how little she really understands. She is a great actor! I watch her communicate with her friends on her VP (video phone) and when asked what they were talking about (I know because I was watching) she can't really give me an answer. She acts like she understands and keeps the conversation moving, but really misses a lot!

So thus began my determination to make sure she really understands what is going on. And of course she gets angry all the time at my questions. I now follow her to youth group at church and interpret for her. She is accepting it now and actually thankful I am there. And of course I am realizing I really need to brush up on my sign language, because she is suffering at my hand . . . literally. :)

Now in the back of my mind, I have been waiting patiently for the day that she would be able to pick up a book and read and learn. And after years of pushing reading and her diligent practice, she has a larger vocabulary, but still no comprehension. So reading is still not a way she is able to learn thru. I have never treated my daughter like she was handicapped. If she wanted to do something, we found a way for her to do it. She wanted to walk and run, so we watched as she did just that at a normal age. She wanted to draw and write, so we gave her pencils and she was able to hold a pencil correctly and write her name at the age of 2. She loved animals, so we introduced her to horses and bought her a special saddle to fit her little legs. She was riding at the age of 4 and moved on to participate in church rodeos, 4-H horse shows, and Isaiah's Place Equestrian Drill team. She loves music and has an amazing natural beat. She plays the piano beautifully and is now learning the violin. She loves books and we make plenty available to her. She loves to write and has copied large portions of the Bible for many years. She loves to be in the kitchen and can cook a wonderful meal for our family from scratch, from memory. She is diligently trying to learn to read cookbooks. Her love of animals brought her to show a pygmy goat this year at county fair and she has learned how to milk the big goats this year too. She is an amazing kid!

All that to say, that I've always expected her to do great things. And in that list of great things is read! We just celebrated her 13th brithday and she still just can't get above a 2nd grade level. Now like most deaf, there are underlying health issues. And this varies wide across the spectrum of health issues. Short Stuff is missing her myelin sheath (or her white matter) and the docs are quite sure how that will affect her learning. But we are discovering that it really slows down her ability to process information. Action learning she is great at, bookwork - not so much. So how has this child learned to read thus far? Basically she repeats a work over and over again until it passes into her gray matter and sticks. She is the most diligent worker I have ever met! So vocabulary she is getting, how a sentence goes together is a whole other matter!

Ok, moving on to where all this has brought me. I was listening to a CD yesterday about being a daughter of dignity. And the whole time that I am listening to it, I'm thinking, "Wow, I wish Short Stuff could listen to this!" So that gets me to thinking. We have some really good Bible stories in ASL, we even have the Bible in ASL, and there are sermons online in ASL. But where is the stuff in the middle? For teenagers?

Now my signing really stinks. But I am really wanting to get some of these great CD's translated for Short Stuff. And I figured while I am at it, why not make them available to other teens? I'm not sure how I am going to go about doing this. I know I need to get permission from the people who presented the CD's first. I also will need help with videorecording, interpreting, glossing, spreading the word, etc. So if this is something that interests you or if you know more than I do, please let me know.

Revisiting Reading

2010-12-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

I kind of abandoned this blog when my daughter started attending the public deaf school. And I feel guilty. Just because she attends deaf school doesn't mean that our journey of educating our child ends.

So over Christmas break I have been working with Shelby with reading. She still struggles a great deal with reading. Although she has improved since starting her public school career, it hasn't been a huge improvement. One big improvement has been her confidence. Which is nice to see. So in desperation, I cried out for help . . . and received many great ideas.

My favorite idea was a storytelling idea. So starting today, Shelby is going to type out the birth story of my 5th child. In her own words and in her own order. Then I will help her sign the concepts and then turn the written work into English. This process will take a few days for each project, but it should be a fun journey!

We also started doing a word-of-the-day. Each day I put a new word up on the fridge. The kids use the word throughout the day and it helps familiarize them with the correct spelling.

For Christmas one of my kids got Banana-grams game. We got out a child's dictionary and let them lose with the game. It was great fun and they all learned new words. Shelby knows how to use the dictionary so this was also good dictionary practice. And of course, the same could be done with Scrabble.

Another wonderful idea, is using the VRS for communication with others fluent in ASL. To master English, she will have to be fluent in her own language first. This tool will allow her access to many native speakers. And as we are looking to homeschool her again, this will be a valuable resource.

And as a simple activity, I have her read me at least one book each day.

I would love to hear success stories and ideas!

Resources for the Family

2010-02-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

I just realized I have never posted a blog about all the many resources available to the family with a deaf child! Other than Isaiah's Place being the best place to be, here are some other great resources:

My first recommendation is going to be American Society for Deaf Children. Your first year is free, you just need to ask! They also host a wonderful family conference (aka vacation) every other year. This is a wonderful resource to have.

Hands and Voices will be my second pick. They have state chapters which you can locate on their website. They are an awesome resource for current laws per state and advocating for your child.

Many states offer a telephone assistance program. DARS offers such a program in Texas. We used it and my daughter received a free cell phone for text messaging.

Texas has a great network of deaf events called Deaf Network. It really is the best way to stay informed of what is going on around Texas.

Texas School for the Deaf has an incredible Outreach office. The outreach office offers services to students that do not attend TSD. They also offer a lending library for free! Tell Lisa Crawford that I sent ya!

Deaf Missions and Silent Blessings are awesome Christian resources. They offer fun videos, books, Bibles and more! They also do a family camp every year.

Harris Communications offers tons of resources.

That should get you started! Have fun digging around.

My Versatile Daughter

2009-11-19T12:24:00.000-08:00

This year has brought us to a new place in the road on educating our deaf child. After lots of prayer we decided to enroll our daughter into deaf school. We have not abandoned homeschooling! Actually this process, although fearful for me, revealed our teaching ability as Shelby was tested to determine her grade level.

I told the teacher at what level I guessed she was at so that she would know where to start with the testing. And guess what? I was right on! So that proved that I knew where she was at, so I was an active teacher, but it was also a little embarrassing because she was several grade levels behind. I knew this. We had struggled with reading for years! I just couldn't seem to make progress and felt it was because of our lack of ASL skills. I wasn't able to present the info in her language well. There was just a wall I couldn't break!

So we enrolled her in school to get this exposure to ASL, to develop positive deaf role models (which she really never had a problem with this), to meet friends like her, to get speech therapy since she wants to communicate with the hearing world so badly, and to get specialized teaching for reading. Reading is her key to success!

She has been in school for a month now. Over the past month her teacher, the speech therapist, the art teacher, the audiologist, the itinerant teacher from the local district, and the ASL teacher all observed her. And I got to meet with them this week for the verdict. I was a little nervous, but also excited to hear how she was doing.

And you know what! Her teacher is having the same problem with her as I was! I also learned that they didn't feel the need to work with her on ASL as she has better ASL skills than most kids her age! She talks in ASL and has trouble turning that into English, obviously. There was concern over her cochlear implant as it has issues. We are still waiting on parts, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. Her teacher said that her ASL is fine, its her processing that is not quite right.

So all these years of struggling, came to find out that I had been dong a great job! Shelby has a loss of myelin sheath in her brain that the docs never could tell me how it would affect her. I spoke to neruodevelopmental specialist this summer and she explained to me how Shelby's brain is functioning. Her brain tires easily because it takes her so much longer to process information. This tiny bit of information helped us understand her a little bit more. Her teachers strongly feel this processing issue is a result of the myelin sheath.

She has an issue with time. She doesn't understand tenses. Doesn't grasp next year. She lives in the present (as Diane can testify to that!) And as one of the teachers mentioned, if after 8+ years, she can't remember that snack is always at 3:00pm, then there is something going on there. So they are working on a plan that will give her the concept of time so that she can function as an adult.

So anyway, we were sitting in this meeting and the teacher asked me what her skills and likes were so that she would be able to use that in class. I started listing things like cooking, sewing, knitting, using power tools, horseback riding, etc. Boy were they impressed! They started joking about the transition classes they have available in high school. These classes are designed to teach these kids this stuff so that they can transition into real life. Most of them live in the dorms and rarely see a kitchen. Shelby could probably teach some of these classes!

Needless to say they were very impressed with Shelby. But I learned that I wasn't doing a bad job. I don't regret putting her in school, but our goals have changed a little. So now she is in school to get more exposure to ASL, to develop more positive deaf role models, to meet friends like her, to get speech therapy since she wants to communicate with the hearing world so badly, and to get specialized teaching for reading, focusing on her processing issues. Reading is her key to success!

Giveaway

2009-09-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

I love giveaways. And I wanted to share with you a really cool one!!

Go to Homeschool Notebooking and check out their boys and girls school planners. Who doesn't need a little help with keeping control on their school work?!?!

While you are there check out all the other cool products they offer for the notebooking mama!

Daily Conversations

2009-09-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Literacy and your Deaf Child and have been brought to the table. This week I was reading a chapter about how we communicate with our deaf children vs. our hearing children. We do treat them differently, and we always will, but we need to be careful we don't expect little of them. I caught myself doing this to Short Stuff.

We have done well to let her communicate with her friends and family with a cell phone (texting) and letting her order her meals at restaurants. But I do catch myself condensing what is being said when I interpret for her or do most of her communicating for her with adults. She is almost 11 years old and I need to expect her to do what a 11-year-old can do! And help her achieve those goals.

So with that being said, here are some things I am going to try to do this year:

Journaling - This can be done conversationally or as a diary. Parents can write back and forth with their child. Or have the child write in the journal once a day about something that happened.
I am using Reading Milestones for her reading practice again this year. Its a lot of worksheets, but she likes that kind of stuff. :)
Be patient with her while she tries to read the menu at a restaurant and let her order.
Create a word book for all the new words she learns.
Short Stuff loves horses, so we are going to use that this year to learn reading and writing. I found a great book called Junior Master Horseman. It is full of ideas for writing, math, and more.

Straight from IP!

2009-07-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that I am posting straight from IP! How exciting for us! We just love being here.

We have come up to spend the week doing a Vacation Bible School. Although my passion is to educate the deaf children, the most important part of that education is Jesus!!! So I am happy to spend the week doing just that.

I came across some new material that I would like to share with you. It's called Picture This! I have not been able to use it with my kids, but it looks like a lot of fun. Check it out. At the end of the year your child will have his/her own Bible notebook with visual reminders for each story in the Bible! Wonderful tool for the visual learner (aka our deaf kids!).

I also have been wanting to share with you about our trip to the ASDC conference at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. It was awesome!! I met many neat people, including Rachel Coleman from Signing Time and the 2007/2008 Miss Deaf Texas. I listened to many great speakers and hope to highlight those one at a time in the near future. Stay tuned!

Summer Plans

2009-05-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the pause in entries, but Summer is almost upon us! Are you ready?? Every summer we are bombarded with things to do, places to see, and people to visit. Where are you going this summer?

As homeschoolers schooling doesn't stop just because it is June. We keep doing our school work, but we also take advantage of the summer reading programs and camps available. Most reading programs are free to participate in, as they should be. Here are a few:

Half Price Books

Pizza Hut Book It

Book Adventure

Barnes & Noble's

Borders Reading Challenge

And don't forget to check your local library. Last year my kids earned free tickets to the circus through our local library! It was exciting!

There are also many camps available during the summer. Check your state deaf school and see what they have going on in the summer. Here in Texas, TSD always has some fun up their sleeve!

We are blessed to be attending ASDC Conference in Oklahoma!! We are so very excited.

And don't forget all the things IP has planned! There is so much to do - don't miss out!

These are all great events to get our kids around positive deaf adults and deaf friends.

Bible Stories

2009-01-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

One of the most important duties of a parent is to pass on our spiritual beliefs to our children. I want my children to love God with all their hearts. So how do we pass this on to our deaf children that miss out on so much verbage?

1. They are very good at asorbing information visually, so what are we telling them visually? Do they see us worshipping? Do they see us love and cherish them? Do they see us helping those in need? Do they see us honoring our authorities? My deaf daughter is the best at mimicing me and, sadly, she picks up on all my sinful habits. We need to be sure we do what we say!

2. A Bible notebook has been a fabulous idea at our house. Each of my children keep a Bible journal which we work on each morning after Breakfast. The younger ones draw pictures of whatever Bible story they are reading and copy a sentence from their Bible story books. My deaf daughter has been copying scripture for several years now. She doesn't know all that she is writing, but she is definately getting familiar with Bible reference.

3. We also enjoy acting, signing, and retelling of Bible stories. I get the video camera out and they enjoy acting out their favorite stories. Sometimes I read and sign a story - or sometimes I only sign the story. They all get a kick out of that.

4. We also take advantage of Bible coloring books. No Greater Joy has a new series of very detailed Bible coloring books that my kids have enjoyed. They also have a corresponding comic book Bible.

5. And my favorite is Deaf Missions Bible DVD's. They offer the whole Bible in ASL on DVD!! They have kids videos and a kids Bible study club! All awesome!

Communication around the Holiday Table

2008-11-25T09:33:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us! What do you envision when you hear the words Thanksgiving?

A big oblong table covered in food?

A turkey and ham?

Visiting with friends and family?

Noise?

Football?

Now imagine the Thanksgiving table, but you can't hear anything. You see lots of people. You see lots of food. And you see lots of mouths moving and laughing. You don't know that there is music in the background. You didn't notice that Grandpa just said the dinner prayer. All of a sudden there is a line around the buffet table so you join in to get some food. All the kids jump up and run to the other room, but you don't know why. You carry your plate to the table and find yourself sitting among the adults. Hmm? Where did the kids go? You finish your food and go look for everyone and find them outside playing. You enjoy playing until they all run inside. Now what is happening? So you run inside too and find all in line for dessert! Yum! But by the time you get up there all the ice cream is gone and you have to settle for just a piece of pie. Everyone is laughing but you don't know what is so funny. You wander into the other room and watch the football game for a few minutes. Everyone is having a good time, but no one is talking to you. You can't follow any of the conversations because there are so many people talking at one time. You settle for playing outside or looking at a book until Mom says it's time to go home.

Holidays may be a fun time, but have we stopped to consider what our little special children are "seeing"? Here are some ideas to be sure our deaf children are included in the festivities:

1. If you can provide a round table, this is best for following a conversation.
2. Signing every conversation would be difficult and would probably bore your little one, but make a point to sign the funny things being said.
3. Pay attention to you child and make sure he/she is having fun and not being left out. Children are wonderful at getting around the language barrier. Let them play, just make sure your child is not being left out.
4. Give your child an opportunity to tell family members about his/her year.
5. And make sure that your child is aware when announcments are made - like when it is dessert time!!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

To be or not to be . . .

2008-10-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

Five years ago we made the decision to give our daughter the Cochlear Implant. She was old enough to be a part of the decision making, but ultimately it was our decision. This article is not meant to be a debate. I'm not trying to fluff feathers, just relating our experience.

We saw the CI to be a tool. It was meant to give her access to the hearing world, but not to become hearing. Many believe that when she received the CI that she could miraculously hear. So all of a sudden we were faced with people constantly asking if she could hear now and would start talking like the rest of us "hearing' people.

My daughter is deaf! She will always be deaf. That is who she is and she likes being deaf. Only one time in her life has she asked for the doctors to fix her ears, but she has prayed repeatedly for a deaf brother and that her parents would become deaf!

My daughter signs and likes signing, but she also loves to talk! As she matures we ask her opinion on her deafness and education. We want to know what she is thinking and who she is. We were discussing communication options and I simply asked if she liked signing or talking more. She quickly responded with, "I like signing, but some people don't know sign." She listed several people that she is with regularly, mostly family, and then continued: "I want both. Sign and voice. I want to talk with my friends and family." I was very proud of my little girl. She understood that she lives in a hearing world. I have nothing wrong with a person who only signs. They get along just fine in this world through gestures, writing, and interpreters. But MY daughter wants to do both, so we are trying to give her that.

The CI is a wonderful technology, but it is not a quick "fix". When it works, it gives her good sound. She has been able to develop some good speech. She has been without the CI for about 2 months now due to equipment failure. At risk for sounding like a bad mom, I like her without it. She seems calmer without it and it requires all of us to sign to her. Will we get the CI fixed? Yes, of course we will. But it's just nice to know that with or without it, my daughter can still communicate.

To be . . . deaf is a part of who she is.
To not be . . . deaf, we would miss out on a whole other world.

Schedule Dilemma

2008-09-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote an article on the importance of scheduling with children, especially deaf children. You can check that out here.

I wanted to share how we are using schedules in our home. Shelby will be 10 years old in a couple of weeks! Wow! She is a busy little thing, but really likes having that schedule. She likes to know what to do next and what everyone else will be doing. I've tried all kinds of schedule charts that I spent hours trying to create. I've even made picture cards of each job for each child. That was cool, but so much work! Because I also had to remember to change the cards out every evening.

So I got the bright idea to let the kids make their own schedule. What a concept! Not only did they have fun drawing all the pictures of each job, they remember their schedule much better. I made it real simple, but you could make it more elaborate. I took a piece of printer paper and folded it until I had 16 blocks. They numbered the blocks so that they would know which order to go. Then I told them what to draw in each block. I went back and wrote in the task to help with reading skills. Since the blocks are small, I wrote it. (Their handwriting can get rather large.LOL)

Happy scheduling!

Using an Interpreter

2008-09-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

Our daughter had her first experience with a professional interpreter. What an experience! We never go anywhere demanding more than "mom" as the interpreter. And we love all the volunteer interpreters at IP, but I've never had to request an interpreter for an event. Well . . . this summer all three of my children earned a free Ringling Brothers Circus ticket by reading 5 books. This was a really big deal for us! So I planned ahead and called the event center's office a month early, actually my husband called while I was in labor! It was so easy! They gave us no hassle and set it up within the week. We were all very excited, especially me! I didn't have to sign or answer questions during the show. The interpreter was awesome and Shelby loved it. She actually watched the interpreter for the two hours we were there! She tired a little at the end, but did great! She felt so special. I wanted to share this little story for those out there that might be a little unsure about requesting an interpreter. I've always been hesitant to ask when I know that I could do the job. But I also realize that my daughter needs to learn how use an interpreter, she needs to know that they are available for her. She even told the interpreter that her "mommy can't sign because she has to feed the baby." Wow! She really understands whats going on. She realized that I can't always do that for her.

Cochlear Implant

2008-09-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

My daughter has a cochlear implant, which we use as a tool not a quick fix. Her friend just got his CI and his mom posted a great explanation of it. Please check it out at Gerlt House.

Doorposts Goodies

2008-07-16T17:50:00.002-07:00

More Doorposts Goodies

Honor Your Father and Mother: The Fifth Commandment for Little Ones

This is a simple, but easily applied, book. The book is simply set up with a question, a scripture as the answer, and a simple coloring book drawing. Book is easily copied for coloring projects while you are focusing on teaching a particular trait. An index is also included to easily find a specific trait that needs refining.

For example:
Question: Do I recognize that my parents are doing what God requires of them when they correct and discipline me?
Answer: “The rod and reproof give wisdowm, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” Proverbs 29:15
There is also a simple picture to color.

Armor of God Pattern

Deaf kids love acting! Doorposts offers complete patterns for sewing your own Suit of Armor. What fun! I have bought all the supplies, which were all found at a craft store, but have yet to put it all together.

Mighty Acts of God

This is a “guide to simple family drama times.” The first few pages contain topics such as “Why Dramatize?”, “Different Ways to Dramatize”, “Easy Costumes”, and “Getting Started”. The bulk of the book is story notes for creating your own family dramas. Using common Bible stories, the Forsters give the scripture reference, characters, costumes, and story line. The book finishes with “Dramatizing with Toys”, “Special ‘Story Meals’”, and a couple of patterns for simple costumes. What a great addition to your Bible study library for your deaf learner.

Hidden Treasures

2008-07-16T17:50:00.001-07:00

Hidden Treasures
Doorposts

This is my favorite Bible reference for the deaf learner! If you are familiar with anything Doorposts creates, this one matches in quality and Biblical truth.

The hidden treasures referred to is the precious book of Proverbs. The beginning of the book is the obvious explainination of how to use the book. Also included is ways to include Proverbs into your everyday life. The rest of the book is full of children’s illustrations of various Proverbs.

If you have ever read any of the Proverbs and tried to explain them to a hearing child, never-the-less a deaf child, then you understand how abstract they can be. These illustrations fill that gap! Most are very literal drawings of a particular proverb, which give the child a picture to directly relate to a meaning. We would make copies of a chosen proverb and allow the children to color them as we discussed its meaning and how we can relate that to our life. Once the child has the hang of that, they can start creating their own proverb pictures! What fun!

This book includes 90 Proverb illustrations – a great springboard.

Our 24 Family Ways

2008-07-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

Our 24 Family Ways
Whole Heart Press

This is a family devotion book that would work well for the hearing or deaf. It is simply set up so that any family could use it successfully. Using an outline for each of the 24 Ways or Values, the authors make it self-explanatory and easy to use. The outline used is called A.R.T.S.

A – Ask a question.
R – Read the Bible.
T – Talk about it.
S – Speak to God.

You will need your Bible and if you have young children you will want to add the 24 Family Ways coloring book. Each way includes five days of family devotions, but each family could use as few or as many as they pleased. The authors’ website offers printable “Make Your Own Way” worksheets and suggested Bible stories that will correspond with the 24 family ways.

The book is completed with a family statement, “We’re on the Way,” which each family member would sign and a celebration could follow!

Mystery of History

2008-07-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Mystery of History
Bright Ideas Press

This is a series of three volumes covering history from creation to the growth of nations (1707) in view of the Bible. Wonderful series!

Bright Ideas sent me volume II to review, which covers the early church to the middle ages. I really enjoyed going through this thick volume. I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about the specifics of the curriculum, but will give you a general layout.

The book is laid out in twelve steps:
1) Quarter Summaries – Introduction to the time period.
2) Pretests – 8 questions to introduce students to people, places, and events.
3) Lessons – This is the story, with key words highlighted. Most real-life biographies.
4) Activities – Activities broken into three age levels. There are a good selection to chose from.
5) Memory Cards – Suggests making one card per lesson includes name of lesson and main points and timeline.
6) Review – Offered after every three lessons. Guidelines for timeline and mapping work. Suggests a “Wall of Fame” timeline project using simple household items.
7) Exercises – Cumulative review every six lessons.
8) Quizzes – Cumulative quizzes every six lessons.
9) Quarterly Worksheets – Similar to exercises and quizzes to review material from the previous quarter.
10) Semester Tests – self-explanatory.
11) Student Notebooks – Suggests that each student keep a notebook divided by continent to store students’ work.
12) Supplemental Books and Resources

There is a lot of information in this book! She gives great detail in setting up memory cards, timelines, and grading. She also breaks down the classical approach to education which she used as a guideline when writing these books.

Now as far as it relates to a deaf learner: This book will require a good reader. A fourth grade reader should have no trouble reading the stories. There are a few activities that could be skipped over, but there are plenty of other activities. Many lessons include re-acting the story and hands-on projects. Both great for a deaf leaner. There are lots of discussion questions to insure that the student is retaining and comprehending the lessons.

Wonderful Art of Horses

2008-06-12T11:29:00.001-07:00

by How Great Thou Art

Once again art is a wonderful means of expression for the deaf child. How Great Thou Art has done it again with another great resource. Their books are so much more than art lessons!

This book is geared toward the reader, 8 years and up. My daughter is 9 and not yet able to read independently, but I simply sign her all the information. It has not been a problem. This book is also set up to be worked in, but I chose to have my daughter draw on paper and create a notebook rather than "use up" the book. Materials needed, other than a sketchbook, include a black drawing pen and a good set of drawing pencils.

While the child is learning to draw horses, he will also learn to the colors, patterns, parts, breeds, markings, measurments, skeletal, equipment and horse word definitions. The child will draw realistic and cartoon horses. Writing activities are also included. The book includes quizzes throughout to insure the student is learning more than just drawing. And for a plus, the author educates the student about famous horse artisits! This is truly a gem!

Little Annie's Art Book of Etiquette and Good Manners

2008-06-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

How Great Thou Art

Art is a wonderful way for deaf children to express themselves and these art programs are very detailed and a great resource.

This book is geared at 4-9 year olds. Little Annie is a cartoon that guides the student through the book. Many Bible verses and quotes are used to encourage and teach good manners. Since the book is geared toward young learners it is meant to be read to the student and worked together with the teacher. Signing the simple verses and instructions would not be a problem. The book is set up for the student to draw directly in the book. I would rather save the book for multiple students, so I create an art notebook for them to do their projects in. If there is a finish-this-picture type of activity, I simply copy the page and add it to their notebook.

All the art lessons revolve around etiquette lessons too! What a neat concept. This is great for the visual and/or kinsthetic learner. They are learning Bible verses, drawing pictures to teach manners, and seeing pictures that teach manners. Topics covered include friendships, emotions, courtesy, compassion, thankfulness, flattery vs. compliments, kind speech, humility, punctuality, hospitality, responsibility, cleanliness, joyfulness, telephone manners, letter writing skills, posture, obedience, honesty and more. Also included with the book are some card stock marker sheets for coloring.

Helping Parents Help their Kids Love to Read

2008-06-04T10:22:00.001-07:00

Stage 1

Expose child to picture books. Use picture books and sign language to expose child to books and vocabulary. Give the child time to see the pictures. At this age focus on letting the child be comfortable looking at books and looking at you. This also is good practice for the parent!

Have fun with the story. Do more than just look at the pictures. Find some toys that your child could touch and interact with to recreate the story. Ex: Noah and the Flood could be recreated with a boat and some animals. Goldilocks and the Three Bears could be a good excuse to have oatmeal for breakfast with your teddy bears.

Stage 2

Read books with more words. Don’t stop reading picture books, but add some stories with longer storylines. Sign the story meaning, not word-for-word translation.

Act out stories. Get some costumes and act out some simple stories.

Answer and ask questions. Take time to answer your child’s questions about the book. Ask some simple comprehension questions to make sure your child understands the story. Could also ask questions to help the child guess what might happen next.

Stage 3

Sign and read the story. First sign the story to them and make sure that the story is understood. Once the child can answer questions regarding the story, go back and read the English. Remember to fingerspell the author and title of the books too!

Dictation. Have the child sign you a story all their own and you write in English order. Have the child illustrate the story. Put it together in book form. You can use a folder or staples. Then help the child read the story back to you. By this I mean have them sign the story back using the pictures as cues and then help the child read the English words. Even if some of the words are advanced you can still expose your child to them. It’s not going to be a word your child doesn’t use in his vocabulary because he wrote the story.

Play Games. This is a great time to start playing games to enforce reading practice. Ex: Create a treasure hunt game by writing a word at your child’s reading level on an index card. Maybe write car, then the child would go to the car to find the next clue, which may be bed, then the child would go to a bed to find the next clue and so on. Once the child reaches the last clue it would lead to a surprise. This is fun, but also gives the child a use for his knowledge of reading.

Comprehension Drawings. After a story has been signed to the child, have the child draw a picture of an event in the book. This gives the parent a glimpse into how the child perceived the story.

Stage 4

Repeat above, just add to it. Play the games, read more stories, continue dictation exercises, act out stories, and continue comprehension questions and drawings. All of these are so important, but remember to make it fun and meaningful or your child may lose interest in books.

Write Stories. During dictation have the student write their own stories. Don’t correct spelling at first. Encourage writing first, then work on grammar issues. Once the written storyline is mastered, then have them re-write it with the correct grammar and spelling.

Expose to Classics. Be sure to expose your child to literature classics. Use movies sparingly, but they can help create a picture sometimes. Do lots of projects that help re-create the book. Ex: If reading Little House of the Praire Series make butter, visit a running farm house, sew a small quilt, etc.

Expose to varying types of print. Make sure your child is aware of newspapers, magazines, poetry (ASL poetry included), novels, biographies, picture books, non-fiction, road signs, advertisements, closed captioning, etc.

Schedules

2008-06-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

Schedules are an important topic when talking about deaf children. All children like the security of a schedule, but deaf children thrive off of a schedule.

In homeschooling sometimes we tend to be flexible - sometimes too flexible in our daily routines. This can cause havoc to a deaf child. A hearing child can hear all the background conversation all day long, but the deaf child only has the information directly fed to him or visually available. Example: My son can deal with a change in the schedule quite easily because he can hear his father and I discuss why this would be better or why this isn't going to work. So once he is told that there is a change in schedule he understands. My daughter has missed all the background conversation and all of a sudden is forced into a change of plans. This throws her off and she is diffiuclt to deal with for a few moments. Now I realize all children are different and there are varying degrees to everything, this is just a personal example.

Now deaf children do need to learn to be flexible, but at home they also need to feel comfortable and undistracted so that learning can be done and relationships built. The best thing is to have a rough schedule of daily events and make a visual for your deaf child. Some kind of calendar or chart to show pictures of what must be done and in what order. Don't set it up by times as this is stressful to follow. Just make a general order of events so your deaf child knows what comes next. You will find that your child will start to do these things without being told. It really gives them a sense of independence when they know what needs to be done and can take care it without being reminded.

Our family schedule:
Wake Up
Eat Breakfast
Brush Teeth
Get Dressed
Fix Bed
Bible Story
Free Play
Snack Time
School
Lunch
Free Play
Chores
Snack Time
Quiet Time
Free Play/Finish up any schoolwork or chores that need to be done
Dinner
Showers
Bible Quiet Time
Bed time

I have little ones so there is a lot of free play time. They need time to explore. During these times I have things available like sidewalk chalk, swimming, colors, puzzles, games, etc. My kids don't have very many toys so they spend a lot of their time outside playing. Of course I can get away with that right now because I live in Texas.

A schedule does not need to be a complicated thing, just a guidline to help you through the day so that your child doesn't feel lost and confused. If you need help developing a schedule for your family, please feel free to email me!

Silent Summer Camp 06

2008-06-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

* Originally Posted June 13, 2006

We just got back from Silent Summer Camp in Fort Worth, Texas. I got to be a counselor and Shelby was a camper. Our goal for the camp was to expose both of us to ASL and to use it. It is the best way to learn and practice any language. We definately got to do that this past week!

It took me the first few days to figure out what the kids were saying. I'm so used to signing and talking together that when we were just using ASL I got lost. It was a really good experience for me. By the end of the week, though, I felt I could communicate easier and not so frustrated.

We got to go horseback riding, fishing and canoeing at the YMCA camp, Fort Worth Zoo, Six Flags, Science Museum and OMNI theater, and swimming. We had a really good time. It was well planned out and lots of fun.

We made some new friends that I hope Shelby will be able to see again. I also made friends that I hope to stay in touch with. My favorite part of the whole week was seeing the kids use the language. I found it really cool. Can't think of another word to describe it.

I also got to see Shelby change how she signed. The beginning of the week she mostly hung out with the adults and used more voice than sign until she figured out that everyone knew how to sign and she didn't need to voice here. Slowly she started to mingle with the kids and stopped voicing. They called her "Bossy" because she told everyone what to do regardless of the fact that she was only 3' tall. Which also gained her the nickname "Bulldog" so lovingly given to her by the paramedic.

We really had a good time and I am going to miss it next year since we will no longer be in Texas.

Thanks Stephanie for a great week!

Shelby's Frustrations

2008-06-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

* Originally Posted July 17, 2006

Being the only deaf member of our family . . . being the only dwarf member of our family . . . and being the only athletic member of our family Shelby gets quite frustrated at times. Which in turn makes me, Mommy, frustrated. I want to use this blog page to inspire other parents of deaf children to homeschool, but I don't want to paint a picture full of roses. Life is hard sometimes and we forget why we are doing this!

My husband and I often compare our lives to having a child in our house that speaks Spanish. We live in Texas so we know some Spanish, but not at all fluent - not even close for that matter. Many families, unfortuantely, live the same situation but don't have the added challenge of trying to educate their child. Unfortunately they chose to let the state educate their child, yet never learn their child's natural language. This creates a false family with the child's peers instead of their family. We have chosen the bumpier path - the more rewarding path - the path laid out for us by our Lord and Savior.

There are days that I look at my daughter and wish she was born with normal hearing, I wish she could speak to me and tell me all about her dreams, I wish she didn't need me to translate to her what her daddy is trying to tell her. But then I think about what blessing God gave me when he gave me a deaf daughter. Instead of hearing my daughter tell me her dreams I get to see her dreams in full animation! (deaf people have such a wonderful gift for animation) Instead of fussing about translating I'm getting the opportunity to teach my husband and others sign language and time to practice my signing skills! If God hadn't blessed me with Shelby I may never have discovered a wonderful culture and language, I may never have homeschooled, I may never have appreciated each child's gifts and uniqueness, I may never have developed a heart for the deaf community.

Our family is not perfect and we are still learning. It's not alwasy easy, but it's always worth it! I hope that God will allow me to continue to encourage and empower other parents to take an active role in their deaf child's life.

Life with no sound

2008-06-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

* Originally posted November 19, 2006

Shelby has been experiencing life without sound for the last few months. After chosing to give her speech processor a bath, it wasn't working very well. Our audiologist replaced the processor for us, but was unable to cover the broken coil. We haven't had the money to replace this part as of yet, so Shelby has had no sound.

As much as I would like Shelby to have sound, it is not a bad thing that she has been without either. Her signing skills have improved greatly and so have ours. She is learning what it means to be deaf. We do plan on getting her up and running again so that she will have that tool available to her, but it has been an interesting and challenging time for us.

So for our family, we appreciate that Shelby is deaf and glad that she is ok with that. We are also thankful that she has the capability of a cochlear implant and understands that it is a tool to help her and not something to depend on.

Teaching reading has taking on a new challenge without any sound. She tries very hard and is very motivated to read. She uses a lot of lip reading. In January we will be starting a new curriculum created for deaf children. I will be sharing how that works.

Why is this reading thing so hard?

2008-05-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

The following is my notes from a session presented by Max and Charlotte Wilhite at the TAPED convention.

Ideas for word exposure in the home:
Word Wall – Post words found in everyday life on the wall using sticky notes.
Labels – Label everything in the house and/or environment.
Gift of Language – Decorate a word and wrap it up in a gift for your child to open.
Fingerspell – Fingerspell words you don’t have signs for, names, etc. Even when child is a baby.
Reading Corner – Create a warm, cozy environment for the child to curl up with a book.
Reading Ritual – Have a set time everyday that you read a book together. Ex. Bedtime
Games – Play games together like Pictionary and Scrabble.
Experience Books – Create scrapbooks of events the child participated in with language at the child’s level. Ex. Baby pictures with one word phrases or a book about a family vacation.
Creative Time – Spend time together cooking (recipes), sewing (patterns), scrapbooking (captioning), etc.
Captioning – Use them on your TV.
Sidekick – Invest in one for your child.
Grocery Store – Let the child help with the grocery list, cut out labels of things you purchase and show them to your child and let him help find them at the store.
Idioms – Don’t remember their specific point other than expose your child to them.
In This Sign – Read this book and then watch the movie.

Creating Books with Children

2008-05-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

Creating Books with Children
By Valerie Bendt

What a wonderful concept! All children love to create things, but deaf children really need hands on activities to put in practice what they are learning. Creating a book gives them experience in the parts of a book (ie: title, author, front cover, etc.), how to write a story, handwriting practice, spelling practice, art (illustrations), etc.

This book is set up as a 6-week unit study. By the end of the six weeks the student will have started and completed their first real book. Each step is thoroughly explained and many examples are given.

The first week focuses on pre-writing activities. Bendt expresses the importance of reading good literature with your children. She offers a good list of classic books with detailed descriptions to help jump start the parent/teacher find the right books for his/her students. Simple alteration of signing the stories instead of reading aloud makes this easily adaptable to the deaf learner.

Bendt expresses the need for copying or dictation exercises. This activity is excellent for the deaf student. Bendt gives many ideas on what types of passages for the student to copy. Not only is this good handwriting practice, but it allows the deaf student to mimic the English language. Following the description of dictation are many examples of passages for copying.

Each section includes detailed instructions and examples. During the second week the stories are written. The third week text layout and editing is done, fourth includes illustrating the books, the fifth week entails developing the beginning and ending pages and book jacket, and the final week the books are assembled and finished. This book teaches the parent/teacher how to help the student. It includes a lot of details, examples and ideas. She suggests recording books on audio tape several times, but this could easily be adjusting by video taping stories instead. She concludes with a thorough materials list.

I highly recommend this book for the deaf learner. I give it a ☺☺☺☺.

Making the Most of the Preschool Years

2008-05-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

Making the Most of the Preschool Years
By Valerie Bendt

Bendt’s books seem to be a wealth of resources and information, This book gives many games and activities specially created for the young learner. This is such an important time for any child, but especially for the deaf child. This is a crucial time for language growth and Bendt lists lots of fun activities that could easily be used for language development.

The book includes games and activities that involve creative play, fine and gross motor skills, math, reading, life skills and more. I only found a few games that would be either inappropriate for a deaf child or needed to be adjusted.
1) Water bells – page 38 – Isn’t beneficial as the child can’t hear or feel the difference in sound.
2) Sock Puppets – page 88 – Or any of the puppets. Puppets are fun to play with, but to sign for the puppet would not work unless you had those cool puppets where you are the hands. I’m not saying that deaf children shouldn’t play with puppets, they are great fun and could encourage acting out the story instead of signing or reading the story. I just wanted to bring up that this small adjustment would be needed.
3) Books on tape – page 92 – This can easily be adjusted to books on video!
4) Sound Search – page 152 – This game just isn’t going to work as the child is supposed to search for the item by following the sound.
Those were the only games in the entire book that I felt were worth mentioning. The rest of the games would work well for deaf or hearing!

The great thing about these games is that she uses common household items and they are so easy to implement. She supplies many patterns, mazes, dot-to-dots, and puzzles for copying, which saves the parent/teacher time. Many of the activities the child can participate in creating!

A few more notes on this book: These early years are crucial in language development. These activities are a wonderful way to encourage communication among family members. Another note: A hearing child may pick up on common knowledge information, but a deaf child misses a lot of that. Be sure to spend time on instruction and example of each activity. Don’t get frustrated, just keep giving examples and enjoy the time with your child.

I recommend this book for the young learner and parent.

My Fables Book

2008-05-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

My Fables Book
Hewitt Publishers

This book is pretty simple. On left side of the book the fable is told and on the right side there is a box for illustrating the fable and lines for copying the moral. The lines are for a Kinder to a 2nd grade writer. There are 35 fables included in the book. They are written simply for a beginning reader. I would say a 2nd grade level.

Being able to illustrate is a good activity to assure comprehension. Not much else to add, but for the price it would be a good simple affordable introduction to fables and their morals. Simple reading allows good reading practice, morals allows handwriting practice, and the drawing box helps make the story come alive and increases creativity.

Poetry All Around Me

2008-05-05T09:41:00.001-07:00

Poetry All Around Me by Steven-Adele Morley
Available from Hewitt Publishing

Poetry is playing with English language and the sounds it makes, which is why most deaf find poetry allusive. This book is very good at breaking poetry up into bite-size pieces, but a student would still need a strong grasp of the English language to follow through the book. I think this would be a good choice for any student ready to try poetry.

It includes lots of thought-provoking activities. The activities listed through page 18 would be appropriate for English or ASL poetry. Many of the brainstorming activities would also work with ASL poetry. Some of the activities could be played like a game or challenge for the student. If your student likes to challenge himself, this may be a motivator to figure it out. Many activities require the use of a dictionary and thesaurus which would give an opportunity to teach basic dictionary skills.

Rhyming is going to be a little more difficult. What hearing people hear, deaf people see. I show my daughter how the words form the same shape on my face when they rhyme. Now this obviously doesn’t mean that every word that looks similar on my lips will rhyme, but in an isolated activity it works nicely.

This book really offers many ways to manipulate the English language. This approach may make English fun for the deaf learner. Remember to work on these activities together. I wouldn’t set the student down with this book by himself. Another nice feature of the book is that it offers simple definitions of vocabulary such as rhyming, etc.

My two cents on poetry: Unless the student is required to write an original poem or study poetry for school, I would introduce them to some basic, simple English poetry and then let the student discover ASL poetry. In my humble opinion, if a deaf person doesn’t understand the reason for poetry why should they want to read it? ASL poetry is beautiful and demonstrates why we enjoy poetry. Poetry is playing with our language and a deaf person’s natural language is ASL.

Topics included are senses, rhyming, synonyms, antonyms, free verse, similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, haiku and more.

I would recommend this book if a simple introduction to poetry is felt necessary for your student. It is inexpensive, so you won’t feel guilty about any activities you skip.

Succesful Puppet Making

2008-05-05T09:40:00.001-07:00

Successful Puppet Making by Valerie Bendt

This book contains animal puppet patters for farm animals, wood animals and jungle animals. She offers simple, basic instructions for creating the puppets. She even includes instructions for a puppet theater with different scenes. The suggested materials are common household items or inexpensive craft items, all easily found. These are simple enough that the child can help make them, so it would be a fun project beginning to end!

As always, she mentions many other helpful resources. Each section includes a list of books to use with your puppets and facts about each animal.

I think puppets are a great avenue for story telling with a deaf child. No voice is necessary if the story is acted out well. So if verbage is necessary for the story, I would suggest the students acting it out themselves. These puppets are all one-handed puppets so maybe you could sign with the other hand. Be creative!

Natural Speller

2008-05-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

Natural Speller by Kathryn Stout

The author did such a good job describing her product that I thought I would start with that:

“Complete for teaching grades 1-8.
Including –
Common words which are frequently misspelled
Latin and Greek word parts and spelling words
Word categories such as abbreviations, contractions, holidays,
homophones, measurements, and numbers.

Reference guide for grades 9-12.
Including –
Spelling rules
Writing rules
Greek parts with meanings
Latin Roots with meanings”

The first three pages include teaching tips and a guide how to study a word step by step. She includes a good list of sight words that progresses from 1st grade through 8th grade. Spelling and grammar skills are addressed at each grade level and the use of a dictionary is highly encouraged.

If you need direction on how to approach this subject with your deaf student, this is simple to follow, adaptable, and well organized. I wouldn’t worry about the grade level so much, but start at the beginning of the word list and work toward 8th grade list. More time would probably be needed on explaining the difference in meanings of irregular verbs, antonyms, synonyms, etc. depending on your students’ English level. Simple definitions are included in the book.

Activities are included for general practice, dictionary skills, grammar skills, building vocabulary and writing. I don’t feel like the activities will need much adapting as all include writing it down. It is good practice using the English Language.

Spelling rules are included which is a nice guidance for those of us who speak and spell English well, but can’t explain why we do it that way! The book also includes three different letter formats, dictionary sample page, and a glossary.

I would recommend this book as a teachers manual for a dedicated regimen of spelling practice. I personally feel that lots of exposure to books would increase spelling skills without a regimented practice, but I have also learned that all students learn differently and may require more structured exposure to the English Language.

Peter Parker Magnets

2008-05-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

Peter Parker Magnets sent me a selection of their magnet sets. First they sent me their blank magnets. The blank magnet offers the teacher to use as needed with a white side to write on. It comes with 25 blank pieces.

The second set was the sign language magnets. ASL letter was on the white front and the English letter was on the black magnet side. It came in a handy hole-punched pocket and with a guide sheet for learning the ASL alphabet.

The last set I received was the spelling magnetic kit. It also came in a hole-punched pocket for storage. The 144 pieces included vowels in red and consonants in blue. The kit came with instructions for six games ranging from very beginning reading simple blended words to playing with and building harder words. This kit could give your deaf student that extra practice playing with the English language, with the extra help of color-coded letters.

Then, to round out my magnetic experience, I received a magnetic sheet. This was a hole-punched, lap-sized magnetic sheet for using all the magnets. All could easily be stored in a binder and taken on road trips for easy practice in the back seat. This product would not be any different for the deaf than for the hearing, except that most deaf won’t need to learn the ASL alphabet. But if your young student is having a hard time connecting the signed letter to the written letter this would be fun and easy practice.

Storyboard

2008-05-01T12:07:00.001-07:00

Storyboard
Lively Lessons

This product serves the purpose of building a story. It organizes the student’s thoughts and helps create order to a story. It is a large, colorful, engaging, dry-erase, fold-out board that breaks up what?, who?, where?, and how?. It contains 13 steps for brainstorming, including a place to draw pictures for each part of the story. On opposite side there is a sentence builder, paragraph planner, eleven word lists for the brainstorming section, and guidance notes.

This is great for the deaf learner because grammar/spelling is not an issue. This will help create the story without stressing over spelling and grammar. Once facts are established, move into correcting grammar and spelling. The pictures for the story are great too as the student can see their story on paper and then describe it in words. The word lists on the back of the board give the student a jumping board for describing their pictures. If creative writing is a struggle for your deaf student, then this tool may help make it a stress-free and fun experience.

Story Time

2008-05-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

Reading Stories to your Deaf Child

I have three children, but only one of them is deaf. They all love to hear a good story, but reading one book to all three at the same time has its challenges. During the day I do read books to each one individually, but on occasion they all want the same story. We usually wait until daddy comes home. Then he can read the story while I sit next to him and sign. But it is such a bummer to have to wait for dad to come home.

I came up with a solution! All you need is a tape recorder and some blank tapes. During a quiet hour, record yourself reading the books on the tape leaving pauses between pages for picture viewing. Then use them during story time. Let the player read and you can sign the story. Of course if you are zealous and want to video tape the signing, that works too. I don’t have that option available and think that the kids would much more enjoy having a live signer.

So for those of you that find it easier to sign without reading, I hope this helps. Reading and signing at the same time is not a talent I have.

The Frances Study Guide

2008-05-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

The Frances Study Guide
By Valerie Bendt

This charming book uses the Frances series written by Russell Hoban to encourage the love of reading in the beginning reader. The books used are Bedtime for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, Bread and Jam for Frances, A Birthday for Frances, Best Friends for Frances and A Bargain for Frances. Bendt provides an overview and discussion questions for each story along with beginning reading activities. There are puzzles, game suggestions, handwriting practice, and coloring sheets provided with variety between each story. There are many questions for each story to ensure comprehension of the story. This is a great tool for the deaf student, since sometimes a deaf child tends to fill in the missing information. The goal of this book is to enjoy reading a story together and encouraging a love for reading. If this love is acquired at a young age, then your child will always have knowledge at his fingertips. I found with my daughter that a love for reading wasn’t there because she didn’t understand what the words on the page meant. I remember the first story I signed to her – The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Once she realized that the words on the pages created a fascinating story she wanted more and more. The Frances Study Guide does just that through a series of stories that teach meaningful lessons. Now the stories will need to be signed and not read aloud, but this can easily be done. I would suggest using these books up to age 9-10 without offending your deaf learner. After that the stories and activities may seem babyish. The activities are really geared at a young learner. You know your child better than anyone else, so you decide what is appropriate and what is not. While using this book with my children I did what fit into my homeschool and didn’t feel guilty about skipping some projects. We used this as a supplement to our regular curriculum, but it could easily be a nice six week study for Pre-K through 1st grader.

My First Report

2008-04-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

My First Report "Focus on the World" - Hewitt Homeschooling Resources

This comes pre-punched for placement in a notebook. This makes it easy for the student to work on one report at a time, then place it in a notebook as finished. You could also add pages if the student did other projects for that country. This would make a nice "World Studies" notebook - for all you notebooking fans.

Each report follows the same outline, making it easy for the student to follow. Each report includes vacabulary words, questions to aid discussion, and world map with specific country marked. Some of the vocabulary words can be referenced to suggested companion book Window on the World. There are thirteen reports covering: The Middle East; Northeast Africa; Northwest Africa; Southern Africa; Europe and the Artic Circle; Canada and the USA; Central America; Mexico and Caribbean Islands; South America; Eastern Asia; Souteast Asia; and Australia and Oceania.

In the back of the packet there is an unit study and master copies included. The unit study has ideas covering Bible/character, history/geography/social studies, reading, language, math, science/health, physical education, music, resources, world missions, field trips and art. There are reproducable maps and handwriting pages to be used for every country. These would fit great in your notebook.

The only adjustment needed for the deaf student would be a few of the unit study activities.But they give so many choices, that this shouldn't be a problem. Just skip over the ones that requiring listening and move on to the next suggestion. The reading section just includes books and poems to be read. If your student can read, then they could do this alone. But better yet, sign these stories for your student. This would be equivelant to reading aloud. Some of the suggested reading may be hard to find at a library, but just find books about the country of study to read. Most of the language activities would be great word studies for your deaf student. It is vocabulary work and emphasizes spelling and definitions. Some of the activities can be skipped without missing out on anything.

These materials are deaf friendly and look like fun! The handwriting sheets are for 1st through 2nd grade, but if your older child needs help with writing reports, the book is not written in a babyish way. I would just leave out the handwriting pages.

Doorposts Products

2008-04-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Doorposts

This collection of these easy to follow patterns is a wonderful addition to your deaf child’s spiritual upbringing. I really enjoy Doorpost’s illustrations and these projects are not an exception. Hands-on and visual projects are perfect for the deaf learner.

The Moses Doll kit includes directions and pattern to make a hand sized felt doll. This is a beginner level sewing project with pleasing results. Like all of Doorpost’s products, these are very economical and use easy to find materials.

The Jonah & the Big Fish kit is similar to the Moses kit but it has more pieces to assemble. This one would be very helpful for re-telling this favorite Bible story.

Another neat method of re-telling Bible stories are Doorpost’s Bible Paper Dolls. They come on sturdy card stock, ready to be colored and cut out for hours of fun. The set includes three paper dolls and outfits for Bible Characters such as Mary, Ruth, Rahab, Queen Esther, John the Baptist, Pharoah, King Solomon and more. Also includes the Armor of God! Very detailed drawings! Fabulous for recreating Bible stories.

The Joys of Text Messaging

2008-04-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

This past year I upgraded my cell phone and was left with my old phone. Not in good enough condition to sell, but not trash either. My husband and I decided to give it to Shelby, our deaf daughter. She is 8, almost 9, and we have been working on reading. We felt that the cell phone had two promising advantages. First, she would be able to communicate with family members that live far away. She has a CI, but using the phone is still difficult for her and the recieving person. Now she can text message cell phones and email addresses. Second, this gave her exposure to words and motivation to read. It has been great!

I wanted to pass along this idea to others with struggling readers. We try not to use IM lingo when texting Shelby and help her formulate sentences. It is a great learning tool. It costs us about $20/month. It adds up, but well worth it!

Update: Shelby is still using her cell phone. Distant family enjoys being able to communicate with her via text messaging. It takes a while to understand her sentences sometimes, but her vocablary has grown so much. She is getting the hang of it and that was our goal!

Bi-Monthly Teaching and Learning Tips

2008-04-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Starting soon I will be writing teaching and learning tips at Isaiah's Place. Through these "Learning and Teaching Moments" I hope to share a little of what we do at home educating our deaf daughter, a teaching or learning tip, and a short review of educational material. Diane and I would love your feedback on what you find useful and what you would like to see on this page.

I will begin posting articles and links here again. Sorry about the delay. Life has been crazy for us as we have moved many times over the past two years. We are settling in again and I am excited about getting back in the saddle again! We are expecting our 4th child this summer, so I am sure there will be another pause around July sometime. LOL

Welcome

2008-04-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks I will be moving posts from the old blog to this new one. All the categories will be listed on the side menu so that you can easily find articles that interest you.