Signing Time!
Encyclopedia
Signing Time! is a television program
targeted towards child
ren one through eight that teaches American Sign Language
. It is filmed in the United States
and was created by Rachel de Azevedo Coleman and Emilie Brown
. Coleman also hosts the series. Between the years 2006 and 2008, it was aired by American Public Television in many cities across the US. Signing Time! is produced and distributed by Two Little Hands Productions. Two Little Hands Productions is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Signing Time’s multi-sensory approach encourages learning through three senses — visual, auditory and kinesthetic — and reaches children with diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing.
Throughout the series, Coleman, her daughter Leah, Leah's cousin Alex, and Hopkins, an animated frog, teach ASL vocabulary-building signs. The series teaches signs for common words, questions, phrases, movements, colors, sports, days of the week, everyday objects, and common activities.
Currently, Signing Time interstitial music videos can be seen on Nick Jr.
As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were allowed to show the series for the next two years.
, first with Signing Exact English
(SEE), then with American Sign Language
(ASL), so that they could learn to communicate. Rachel noticed that within six months, Leah's sign language vocabulary far surpassed the vocabulary of hearing children her same age. Rachel's sister Emilie Brown
and her husband Derek had been teaching Leah's newborn cousin, Alex, how to sign, and he learned it quickly as well.
A few years later, Rachel had a second daughter. Lucy was born 8 weeks premature, with spina bifida
and cerebral palsy
. Doctors worried that, due to her cerebral palsy, Lucy would never be able to speak or use sign language to communicate with her deaf sister, but after production of the first volume, Lucy began to sign, and later, to speak. Rachel then realized that signing could be beneficial to all children.
Rachel and Emilie decided to create a visual video for hearing children so that ASL could be made accessible to all children, and together created Two Little Hands Productions, their production company. The project has turned into a massive success, spawning a successful television run and much merchandise. A foundation, Signing Time! Foundation, has also been created. It is a foundation for children with and without disabilities whose mission is to enrich the lives of children of all
abilities.
, but customers responded, wanting more songs and wanting to learn signs from them.
The second season introduced a new format that includes new signs and more original music. Each program addresses a single theme, marked by a theme song, which is introduced verse by verse. In addition, new segments “ABC Time,” “Counting Time,” “Game Time,” “Story Time,” and “Hopping/Moving Time” explore the episode theme or other skills in a playful way. These segments employ teaching methods such as mnemonics, songs, stories and games, appealing to diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing.
As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were given the right to air Signing Time! for the next two years.
in January 2004.
, who in 1817 established the first free American school for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
Other items include printed materials such as board books and flash cards, Signing Time! clothing, and Signing Time! music CDs.
Parents' Choice - The show was nominated for the Parents' Choice Awards.
National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA)
Source:
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
targeted towards child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren one through eight that teaches American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
. It is filmed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was created by Rachel de Azevedo Coleman and Emilie Brown
Emilie Brown
Emilie Colleen de Azevedo Brown is an American voice actress. Before moving out of the Los Angeles area, she did several anime voice roles mostly under the names Emily Brown, Mary Cobb and Marie Downing...
. Coleman also hosts the series. Between the years 2006 and 2008, it was aired by American Public Television in many cities across the US. Signing Time! is produced and distributed by Two Little Hands Productions. Two Little Hands Productions is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Signing Time’s multi-sensory approach encourages learning through three senses — visual, auditory and kinesthetic — and reaches children with diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing.
Throughout the series, Coleman, her daughter Leah, Leah's cousin Alex, and Hopkins, an animated frog, teach ASL vocabulary-building signs. The series teaches signs for common words, questions, phrases, movements, colors, sports, days of the week, everyday objects, and common activities.
Currently, Signing Time interstitial music videos can be seen on Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were allowed to show the series for the next two years.
History and Conception
In 1996, Rachel Coleman had a daughter, whom she named Leah. When Leah was 14-months-old, Coleman and her husband, Aaron, discovered that Leah had been deaf since she was born. Afterward, the couple began to teach Leah sign languageSign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, first with Signing Exact English
Signing Exact English
Signing Exact English is a system of manual communication that strives to be an exact representation of English vocabulary and grammar...
(SEE), then with American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
(ASL), so that they could learn to communicate. Rachel noticed that within six months, Leah's sign language vocabulary far surpassed the vocabulary of hearing children her same age. Rachel's sister Emilie Brown
Emilie Brown
Emilie Colleen de Azevedo Brown is an American voice actress. Before moving out of the Los Angeles area, she did several anime voice roles mostly under the names Emily Brown, Mary Cobb and Marie Downing...
and her husband Derek had been teaching Leah's newborn cousin, Alex, how to sign, and he learned it quickly as well.
A few years later, Rachel had a second daughter. Lucy was born 8 weeks premature, with spina bifida
Spina bifida
Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...
and cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
. Doctors worried that, due to her cerebral palsy, Lucy would never be able to speak or use sign language to communicate with her deaf sister, but after production of the first volume, Lucy began to sign, and later, to speak. Rachel then realized that signing could be beneficial to all children.
abilities.
Signing Time!
Rachel hosts the show herself, with her daughter Leah and nephew Alex also starring to provide support. In My First Signs, it was not originally planned for Rachel to be in the videos, but she was added to demonstrate the signs because Alex and Leah (then 3 and 4, respectively) could not consistently sign clearly enough to teach viewers the signs. In the earlier episodes, Rachel was reluctant to sing and sign at the same time since it causes some problems for those who want true ASLAmerican Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
, but customers responded, wanting more songs and wanting to learn signs from them.
The second season introduced a new format that includes new signs and more original music. Each program addresses a single theme, marked by a theme song, which is introduced verse by verse. In addition, new segments “ABC Time,” “Counting Time,” “Game Time,” “Story Time,” and “Hopping/Moving Time” explore the episode theme or other skills in a playful way. These segments employ teaching methods such as mnemonics, songs, stories and games, appealing to diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing.
Baby Signing Time!
Baby Signing Time! is a sister series to Signing Time! It started in 2005 and is geared towards children aged 2 and younger; it is similar to the early volumes of Signing Time where the signs are introduced one at a time. It is much more musical than regular Signing Time and teaches basic ASL signs for a baby's needs and environment. Coleman hosts this series as well, but instead of having a real Alex and Leah on the show, Alex, Leah, and Hopkins are featured as animated babies.Signing Time on Public Television
The Signing Time Foundation funded the airing of Signing Time on public television stations around the country from January 1, 2006 to September 30, 2008. Signing Time began airing on public television stations nationwide in 2006 and went from being relatively unknown to having over 80% national cumulative carriage. It was the only show on national television teaching children to sign. Public television does not pay for programming, and in order to keep Signing Time on public television, the Signing Time Foundation was expected to produce and deliver 13 episodes annually, which would have totaled an annual cost of approximately 1.5 million dollars, something that Signing Time's small production company, Two Little Hands Productions, could not afford. However, Rachel has stated that she would love to be able to put Signing Time back on television.As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were given the right to air Signing Time! for the next two years.
Rachel de Azevedo Coleman (“Rachel”)
Rachel is the host of the Signing Time! series. She has spent much of her adult life in the entertainment industry. While performing with her band We the Living, Rachel’s 14-month old daughter Leah, was diagnosed as having a profound hearing impairment. “When I realized my daughter was deaf, I could not find a way to rationalize spending hours working on my music. My priorities changed. I put down my guitar and picked up sign language.” Rachel’s second daughter, Lucy, underwent fetal surgery for spina bifida and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Lucy now communicates with both speech and sign language. After years of musical silence, Rachel has picked up that guitar again, writing and performing all of the songs for Signing Time!. In addition to starring in Signing Time!, Rachel is also a popular singer, performer, and speaker, and has performed for hundreds of thousands of children all across the country.Leah Coleman (“Leah”)
Leah Coleman is the inspiration behind the creation of Signing Time! Diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 14 months old, she began learning American Sign Language (ASL) as fast as her parents could learn it and teach it to her. Leah could sign full sentences long before her ‘hearing’ peers could even speak, and as a result, her parents say she never threw a tantrum. Leah is now 14 years old and in eighth grade. In fourth grade, she garnered national attention for winning first place in her school spelling bee. Her favorite food is sushi. She loves being in Signing Time! with her cousin Alex, and teaching ASL to other children. Leah received a cochlear implantCochlear implant
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing...
in January 2004.
Alex Brown (“Alex”)
Alex Brown appeared in the very first episode of Signing Time! before his third birthday. He learned to sign as a baby so that he could communicate with his deaf cousin, Leah. He is a budding singer, percussionist, and pianist. He is also a parkourist in training. A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Alex has also lived in Virginia and California.Hopkins (Voiced by Aaron de Azevedo)
Hopkins was originally developed as a gecko named ‘Twerp’ (a play on the nickname ‘Terp, for interpreter) and was supposed to be Leah’s ‘voice’ and appear as a gift from Grandma and Grandpa. However, since Leah’s speech began to improve, partially due to a cochlear implant, Hopkins is now Alex and Leah's little green animated sidekick who loves to swim, paint, lift large pieces of fruit, and eat unsuspecting flies. He is named after Thomas Hopkins GallaudetThomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, LL.D., was a renowned American pioneer in the education of the Deaf. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first institution for the education of the Deaf in North America, and he became its first principal...
, who in 1817 established the first free American school for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
Signing Time! episodes
All numbers are in the order that the volumes were released from the Signing Time! official website.Signing Time! Baby Signing Time! DVDs
- Baby Signing Time! Volume 1: It's Baby Signing Time
- Baby Signing Time! Volume 2: Here I Go
- Baby Signing Time! Volume 3: A New Day
- Baby Signing Time! Volume 4: Let's Be Friends
Signing Time! Practice Time! DVDs
Practice Time is an interactive DVD that is designed to help viewers practice their fingerspelling and number skills.- Level 1 ABCs
- Level 1 123s
Other
- Story Time Volume 1
- Sing and Sign: Favorite Songs from Volumes 1-6
- Signing Time Classroom Edition: This series consists of lesson plans and previously released material from the Signing Time series organized by topic for easier use in the classroom.
- Bible Fun: A set that consists of previously released material, along with a teachers' guide, resource CD, and online videos.
- Potty Time: A potty training video sold as a set with an audio CD. A "Potty Time" watch with a "potty reminder" alarm is also available as part of a different set.
Other items include printed materials such as board books and flash cards, Signing Time! clothing, and Signing Time! music CDs.
Awards
Emmy Award Nomination - Rachel Coleman, host of Signing Time, was nominated for the "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series," for the 35th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmys.Parents' Choice - The show was nominated for the Parents' Choice Awards.
National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA)
Media coverage
2011- Sign-language instructor/folk singer to sing and sign concert July 15. Grand Junction Free Press. Grand Junction, CO. 7/8/2011.
- North Baldwin Resident Teaching Sign-Language Classes for Children at Breckenridge Highlands. Baldwin-Whitehall Patch. Pittsburgh, PA. 7/2/2011.
- What is the baby pointing at, anyway? San Diego Baby Sign Language Examiner. San Diego, CA. 5/10/2011.
- Toddlers, parents learn to communicate through sign language. East Oregonian. Pendleton, OR. 5/7/2011.
- Babies are learning sign language. ABC KAIT8. Jonesboro, AR. 3/31/2011. HTML
Source:
See also
- Sign language in infants and toddlers
- Emilie BrownEmilie BrownEmilie Colleen de Azevedo Brown is an American voice actress. Before moving out of the Los Angeles area, she did several anime voice roles mostly under the names Emily Brown, Mary Cobb and Marie Downing...
- Rachel ColemanRachel ColemanRachel de Azevedo Coleman is an American musician and actress. With her sister Emilie de Azevedo Brown, she helped to create the Signing Time! video series to teach children basic American Sign Language . Coleman also produces and directs the series...
- American Sign LanguageAmerican Sign LanguageAmerican Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
External links
- Signing Time!
- Signing Time! Kids Activities
- Signing Time! Foundation
- Rachel's Blog
- Signing Time! Company Blog
- Signing Time! Official Youtube
- Signing Time! WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...