Project Exploring the Internet: Day 4

So this project challenge hasn’t been too overwhelming yet. I’m having a lot of fun doing it so far and I got my first follower yesterday and my second today! VERY COOL!

The comments I’ve gotten so far have been very positive. This is great.

So, back to it….

For a LONG time I’ve wanted to learn American Sign Language. There aren’t any courses nearby so I’ve never done it. I decided to look online for some free places to learn. I found some great ones.

Why didn’t I think of that a long time ago?

I mean, the internet is right there! Why wouldn’t I search for it? Why didn’t anyone tell me this stuff was online?

You see, this is EXACTLY why I’m doing this Project Explore the Internet. It’s for me to learn about new things but also for me to share really cool things with other people. Hopefully y’all share some too.

If I would have found these sign language sites years ago, I may be fluent now.

Well, forget me, my 3 year old (Waaby) would probably know more now than she does.

She already knows “apple,” “thank you,” “mom,” and “dad.” Waaby uses them every chance she gets. It is SO CUTE!

When I saw this You Tube video that babies can learn sign language before they can speak I got really excited, even though a little frustrated that I didn’t know about it with all of my kids.



The baby’s name in that video is Fireese. She is so cute! It’s amazing what she and her mother have accomplished. Other Fireese videos:
12 Months, 13 Months, 15 Months, 17 Months, 2 Years, ABC’s

I guess the best way to start is the ABC's and there are some videos on You Tube that can help you there: Expert Village ABC's, Mark Esposito ABC’s,
Smart Hands ABC’s, Rob Nielson ABC’s

I still don’t have the ABC’s down. Waaby and I will keep practicing.

:)

The American Sign Language Pro site is incredible. They have a dictionary so that you can find any word you want and they have a video showing you how to sign that word, not just a picture you have to figure out. It's incredible and more than I expected. You can’t really tell from a picture in a book how to do the motion. The videos in the dictionary were a welcomed surprise.

The dictionary and videos aren't just limited to just words either. There is also a section with a large list of phrases. This section is really going to help us in learning.

Expert Village with Rachel Berman, has some good videos out there that are really good at teaching you certain aspects of signing and not just the signs. These are short, but really good lessons:
Basics: Deaf/Hearing, Introducing Yourself, Where are you from?, Essential Expressions, Etiquette, Talking About Yourself, The 5 W Questions, Socializing, Personality, Clothes, Shoes, Glasses and Contacts, Phone and Email, Face, Height, Hair, Ethnicity, Likes and Dislikes, Hyper and Mellow, Friendly and Unfriendly, Anxious and Nervous, Happy and Sad, Angry, Excited and Not Excited, Confused, Bored, Indifferent and Tired, Numbers, Names, Pets, Furniture, Home and Address, Laundry, Yard, Computer and TV, Colors, Drinks, Vegetables, Fruit, Meals, Grocery Shopping, Zoo Animals, School

In these videos, this student gives basic lessons for her mom. It's really good. Lesson 1 and Lesson 2

The Rob Nielson videos on You Tube are pretty good:
Numbers, Greetings and Introductions

Signing Time with Rachel Coleman has GREAT videos for kids that Waaby absolutely loves. Eyewitness News did an interview with her and it was very informative. I'm so glad she's been able to use her talents with sign language.

Here are a few of their videos:
Nice to Meet You, Colors of The Rainbow, Helping Out Around the House, Walking Through the Zoo, Signs for Teachers, Happy Birthday, Days of the Week, My House, Spring, Going Outside, Bugs, Caterpillar Dreams, Proud to Be Me

Researching for this post was fun. I'm sure I missed many good sites and if you know of any, please post them.

One thing I want y'all to be careful of though, is that there is a lot of not-so-good stuff out there. There are some videos where a lady is doing the signs wrong. It's really frustrating when you are starting to learn something, and then you find out it's wrong.

There are also other forms of sign language. So you really have to be careful that you stay with the same kind of sign language. American Sign Language is what I used here and it is what is used in the United States.

On another note: I'm learning a lot doing this project but I still don't have my windows covered for winter. LOL!

This blog may get me put in the doghouse.

:)

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