Teaching Toddlers American Sign Language

Sometimes when teaching young children we unknowingly hold them back from their full potential. Luckily with Mother Goose Time I am constantly reminded of important and significant lessons my children can learn every day.

One lesson that really stood out, and we will continue to work on for many weeks to come, was communicating with body language. From this lesson we worked specifically on American Sign Language.

As someone who has worked in food and retail, there are many times where I wished I knew American Sign Language more fluently. I never realized this is something I could teach my daughters easily from a young age and make it very natural for them to grasp onto like a second language.

This week we really focused on sign language and how we can communicate with anyone with these simple hand gestures. The girls found it interesting and fun and the learning kept them engaged with me and each other.

First we focused on signing the alphabet while singing the alphabet song. Mother Goose Time included this awesome ASL Poster that we can hang on our Circle Time Poster. I plan on keeping it there the rest of the year and focusing on the Sign Language with each new letter we learn throughout the year.

The girls took on really easily to the hand movements and recognizing letters as they were motioned. We learned while singing and signing together.

Next we learned our names in Sign Language which Bella really enjoyed.

From there we used a unique tool from Mother Goose Time which makes learning fun and unique. Our new Cube Cards came with different signs on each side. We rolled the cube and learned new signs with each roll and acted them out together.

As we learned a new sign, we would act them out. We did each motion multiple times and then used them throughout the lesson. For example I would sign Bella "Sit Down" and they would all do it with me.

From there I collected a couple of books from our local library. We were able to take home some books that we could practice and read together. The girls liked practicing each letter and motion together.

These are lessons that I am grateful to be able to teach my girls while having fun and learning as an adult myself. If you have questions about Mother Goose Time, or the way we do our curriculum each month, simply comment on the blog or email me. I am happy to help you learn to teach your children new things and to grow together!

After months of being a paying customer, I was given this month's box for free in return for my real experiences and opinions.

A Week Full of Love - Homeschooling with Mother Goose Time

For February we have been learning about hearts and the color Red with Mother Goose Time! Since we celebrated Valentines Day early, we decided to focus this whole week on Hearts! There were so many fun projects this week so I thought I would highlight a few.

First, we created this awesome Invitation to Create! With this photo as inspiration, Bella very carefully placed beads on the Pipe Cleaners and twisted it around our heart shaped Pipe Cleaner.

This was incredible for Bella's hand-eye coordination. I was impressed with how she was able to get the little beads on the pipe cleaner all on her own!

Next, we used her Heart shaped stamp (included in this month's kit), a red marker and her Heart page in her My Little Journal to let her create a page all of her own.

For the My Little Journal I like to give Bella free range so she can create whatever she wants. She decided to stamp lots of hearts and fill it with her marker.

While it may not seem like a big deal, Bella has become so much better and staying inside the lines and concentrating on filling certain areas! I'm so proud of her!



In preparing for making our Valentines for family, we got in the holiday spirit by breaking into our Valentines Pack (included for free in this month's box). It's also available to download for free here!

The first item was this super cute Valentines head band!

Bella has really improved on her cutting and wants to cut whenever is possible! She was my little helper and cut tissue paper to fill the hearts.

Her coordination has also improved drastically! She now can help with tape and put the pieces on herself. 

She concentrates so hard! I love how involved these projects keep her. 

The finished product! Bella loved her headband, but not being a model! HA!

Next we played this fun letter game! Each piece has one capital letter and one lower case letter. It helped her learn this new concept in a fun and easy way!



Lastly, today on Sunday we did our Experience God activity which also was heart themed! For this project Bella decorated a heart pocket and weaved yarn to create a pocket for Bible verses!

Bella and Trinity had fun pouring the glue on the heart. I've been letting Trinity get more involved in our crafts and she really enjoys them as well! I am thinking it's time to order enough supplies for her to join in on the fun and learning!

Of course we had to add glitter! Included in the pack of course. They give you everything!!!



While our glue and glitter dried, Bella cut out her verses and we read them together.



The stringing of the yarn was another excellent exercise to improve Bella's coordination. The pocket turned out so cute and I LOVE the cards that Bella can now use to memorize verses!

All of these awesome crafts and projects have made for a great Valentines prep! Don't forget to head over and get you free kit! Not only are these projects fun to make, but they teach your child so many skills and new topics in a easy and interesting way!

After months of being a paying customer, I received this month for free in exchange for my honest feedback!









Christian Homeschooling Curriculum from Mother Goose Time - January

Some months we do school every weekday and our Christian curriculum, Experience God, every Sunday. Some months we get sick, travel to Hawaii, then go to Disneyland and do all of our Experience God projects in one Sunday. Potato - Potato.

This month's Experience God pack with Mother Goose Time was super awesome! For an extra $5 a month, I absolutely love this craft pack for the kids. Each month's kit comes with 4 projects which we choose to do each Sunday. This month's theme was "God Asks Me to Be Patient". This month we focused on "Joseph and the Colorful Coat".

Here is a breakdown of the 4 different lessons:

 

Each month you also receive a poster with the month's Bible Verse. I save these for Bella to memorize and I hang them in our classroom. This month's is Psalm 27:14.

 



 

Each month you also receive story cards. These are really awesome and crucial in helping the kids understand the lesson. They feature brightly colored illustrations, and easily written stories on the back that keep the children interested.

 



 

Lesson 1: Wait for What you Want (Craft- Colorful Coat)

 



Bella created and colored her Coat of Many Colors. While she loved wearing it, she also understood the story because like Joseph's brothers, her sister did not have a coat and became jealous.

Day 2: Be Patient in Your Pain (Craft- Joseph Story Puppets) 

Bella and Trinity enjoyed coloring the story pieces together. Bella has improved tremendously in her coloring and staying focused on coloring in certain areas and picking different colors! After they were colored and cut, I read the story as Bella reenacted with her story pieces.

 

Lesson 3: Trust God's Timing (Craft - Egyptian Crown)

 



Bella helped me tape together her Egyptian Crown and definitely enjoyed wearing it!

Lesson 4: Be Patient with Others (Craft - Patient Love Chain)

Bella and I talked about times where she is very patient. I was amazed at all of the times she came up with. We listed how she has good patience with her sister Trinity, when we are driving, when we went on vacation, and when Mommy & Daddy work!

 



Although the crafts are super fun and creative, the lesson behind these crafts is priceless. I wouldn't know how to teach these topics or Bible stories on my own. I love how Mother Goose Time creates these child friendly lessons that keep Bella focused and interested. I also love how we get to discuss new ideas and learn together. I absolutely love this add on!

 

 

 

 

While I do pay for this add on myself, I receive my monthly Mother Goose Time kit for free in exchange for my honest feedback!