Numbers, Letters—and more

This was Numbers and Letters week … and much more!







Tuesday began with Miss White helping Kanaan match letters to a letter chart. Next to him was Kyler matching money to a money chart.



Then Miss Forbis taught vowels to us by singing about them, all the while reinforcing our knowledge of sign language....

With soap, soap here and water, water there
Here a wash, there a wash -
Everywhere a wash, wash
Old McDonald did the laundry, a-e-i-o-u.

Although Mister Pat knows his letters and most of his numbers, his knowledge of sign language is quite limited. So, along with several parents, on Friday morning he took advantage of the first of two classes on just that subject. For over an hour, our Speech Therapist, Sharon Hanvey, taught us the ASL (American Sign Language) signs for not only letters and numbers, but for colors, days of the week, verbs, action words, commands, food, relatives, tableware—and we even learned how to say "Fine" when Grandma asks, "How are you?" (see below)



We left with the knowledge that we can still practice online. There are literally thousands of words and phrases on www.aslpro.com, including a Main Dictionary, a Religious Dictionary, a Conversational Dictionary, and an “ASL for Babies” Dictionary. Each word is demonstrated by a real person!

Or we can go to www.signingtime.com. Signing Time is a labor of love, born out of Rachel Coleman’s desire to create a community that could communicate with her deaf daughter. Signing Time also teaches ASL (American Sign Language) vocabulary.

Another site (there are many) is www.mayer-johnson.com, whose Dynavox devices assist individuals who are unable to communicate reliably with their own voices due to cognitive, language and physical impairments. The company was founded by Gary Killiany, who created the EyeTyper, a tool that allowed a young woman with cerebral palsy to “speak” for the first time in her life by composing and speaking messages by moving her eyes.

You can even get a book: Signing Exact English, Gerilee Gustason et al, Modern Signs Press, 1993.

Did you ever count stars?
Did you ever count sheep?
Did you ever count sheep taking walks in their sleep?
If you never did, I think that you should.
Counting sheep can be fun, and fun is good.
—Dr. Seuss