Jump on Literacy I     

 

This class provides additional resources for parents to focus on early literacy with their child.  The earlier your child reads, the sooner they can begin to understand more about their world.  Although up to three family members can enroll with a student, some responsible adult must attend each class. The class meets once a week for 4 weeks.  This class limited to 12 students/family groups.

Jump on Literacy II   

 

This class provides additional resources for parents to focus on early literacy with their child.  The earlier your child reads, the sooner they can begin to understand more about their world.  Although up to three family members can enroll with a student, some responsible adult must attend each class. The class meets once a week for 4 weeks.  This class limited to 12 students/family groups.

Jump on Literacy III   

 

This class provides additional resources for parents to focus on early literacy with their child.  The earlier your child reads, the sooner they can begin to understand more about their world.  Although up to three family members can enroll with a student, some responsible adult must attend each class. The class meets once a week for 4 weeks.  This class limited to 12 students/family groups.

Baby Sign and Read  

 

This class is an intensive course of 16 weekly classes.  Designed for parents who desire an early start to literacy for their children.  This class focuses associating the sign, the sound, the concept and the written word for babies to begin developing reading skills.  Definitely geared for the ambitious, involved and committed parent.  The next step in literacy will be the Jump on Literacy class for toddlers.  A parent or adult caregiver is required to attend with each student.  This class is limited to 8 baby/adult pairs.

ELEMENTARY KIDS SIGNING AND LITERACY 

 

Sign language is an extremely valuable tool for hearing chil­dren as they learn to read. Studies have shown that chil­dren who are taught sign language as a part of their reading instruction score higher on standardized reading tests. Studies have also shown that babies who learned and used signs scored an average of 12 points higher on IQ tests than their non-signing peers, when tested after second grade.

 

One of the most basic literacy skills is the ability to recognize letters. Children can learn to sign the alphabet as they learn their letters. This adds a kines­thetic component that helps young children who often learn best through movement. For many children it is easier to as­sociate the visual letter with its sign and then its sound, than it is to learn the letter and sound in isolation.

 

While a child is learning to identify and sign the letter C, he may learn the word cat to remember the sound the letter C often makes. Eventually he can fingerspell the word cat. This becomes a tool that can be used by the child at home, school or on the go. It helps increase memory and retention of the alphabet, letter sounds, and word associations.

 

Perhaps the greatest benefit of including Signing Time in a child’s literacy education is the amount of explicit vocabulary instruction included within the program. Signing Time includes several representations of each word. These include the signed word, written word, spoken word, photographs, illustrations, and video. The vocabulary is also reinforced through song.  One of the main reasons Sign­ing Time is effective in support­ing literacy is because it is fun for the child. A child involved in Signing Time enjoys the singing and signing so much that they are unaware that they are learning!

 

Through Signing Time, children see the word, hear the word, say the word, and feel the word, creating a multi-sensory experience for each child!