Signing Time

If you haven't heard about Signing Time before you're missing out, so read on I'll tell you about them!

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE this company: Signing Time! They have been so helpful in teaching my son how to learn to sign as a second language. I found out about them through our local library when my son was one. These videos have been the most educational, entertaining, and easy way to learn ASL (American Sign Language). I had learned a little from my cousin over the years, who has a degree and taught at a local deaf school, and I also took a class for it in school. It truly is a fun learning experience. Yet, Signing Time takes it to a whole new level for teaching kids, even infants who can't talk yet, to communicate! I love using sign language for young kids because it makes them stop and think about what they are trying to say. Plus, it teaches them great manners! I require it of my son, like a lot of parents do, that he say please and thank you when he wants something. Yet I can see a notable difference in his attitude (especially for a now 3 year old) from when he speaks it to when he signs it. Signing requires patience, and that is very important in our young kids. While the world around them is all about getting things NOW! Overall it's been a great experience, so check them out at their website, Signing Time.

What I am even more excited to share with you is recently they have partnered with purple player ( for digital video streaming) to provide on and off line viewing of their 40+ episodes of Signing Time! There is a monthly membership, but I find it much more affordable than buying the individual DVDs or CDs and not such a dent in my wallet as buying them in packages. The nice thing is I can cancel my membership anytime! Plus once you download them they are yours forever!

I am in the process of downloading all the videos to my tablet so my son can watch them where ever we go, and not have to worry about WiFi or data! Purple player is a fairly new company so they have some kinks to work out, but they have been so very helpful through their live chat on their website any time I've had a problem. I like this way more than DVDs because they won't take up any space in my house, or in the car on trips!

So 5 stars from this home school mama for Signing Time and Purple Player, there's an app for that! I hope you check them out for yourself and see just how great they are for learning!

Thanks for reading, and please leave me feed back!

Olivia

Why Homeschool?

There are so many arguments being made these days over whether to send your child to public, private or just home school. To make the right decision for your family your going to have to do some research and maybe even try out each option to see what works best.

 I've personally decided to home school my son, and any of our future children, because of my own personal experiences. On top of that, there are plenty of statistics that show that homeschooling is a great source of learning for children. 

I came to the realization that as parents we are the ones who teach our children from the time they are born to walk, talk, eat, potty, and any other life skills. We are very capable of teaching them ANY thing else! It doesn't have to be us, necessarily, who tells them things, but we can certainly be there to guide them in the right direction to finding the answers. There is a great sense of love for learning when you can do it together. They don't have to know that you don't already know everything... set the example that you can learn new things at any age! 

Of course, homeschooling isn't for every family 24/7. However, even if you are a parent who has children in public or private schools, you should be engaged in their school work. Knowing what they are doing each week makes a world of difference when you can incorporate what they are learning in school at home too. They will get to see that it can be fun and they need to know it for every day life. 

I love the idea of homeschooling because there are no grades for any specific age group. Each child learns at a different pace and enjoys learning different things. While you child may excel in math they may "fall behind" in English. With homeschooling you can stay in any subject your child may need help or time to understand but still move forward with the other subjects they do understand. With this, homeschooling does not have to use "grades" like public schools. They use levels for each area of work your children are learning. You can do it any way you like, just make sure that you are complying with your states guidelines. 

Check out this website to find out more information for where you are located.

http://www.hslda.org/laws/

Homeschooling can seem very overwhelming, it has to all of us, but it will be very rewarding. I have seen and am in the process of testing out some lesson plans and methods of organization. I see a lot of great ideas on pinterest. If you don't already know what that is... it is basically a website where you can create boards and pin ideas and the links to their websites that contain the information so that it is easy to find for a later date. If you'd like to follow me and take a look at some of the things I've found for homeschooling, here's a link.

http://pinterest.com/mamaking11/homeschool/

If you have any questions feel free to comment. I will try my hardest to help you find the answer. Thanks for reading!