SIGNING FAMILIES™ has a new sign language series of materials ready to roll from our place to you home, school, hospital or organization. Throughout the next few months we will be announcing contests to give away FREE products to few lucky winners. Today we announce the EDUCATOR CONTEST- A CLASSROOM SET OF American Sign Language (ASL) Materials…. details are here:
To be eligible simply comment below or on the SIGNING FAMILIES FACEBOOK page by May 1, 2011 (6 pm EST) on why your classroom, your child’s teacher or some educator you know would love to get the ASL classroom set (enough for twenty students). This will include sets of the SIGNING FAMILIES™ new ASL- English and Spanish folder , bookmarks, ASL charts and a free DVD (either Baby, Toddler and Preschool Sign Language or Sign Language for Emergency Situations). The value of this prize is well over $150.
I also will randomly pick two other educators to win a free set of bookmarks for their class and SIGNING FAMILIES DVD.
→ A few rules:
- You may submit only one comment per person. But, if you are really clever, you can have friends, family and co-workers comment on your behalf!
- You also may comment on the SIGNING FAMILIES Facebook website found here: SIGNING FAMILIES ON FACEBOOK
- We ship only in the United States and Canada for this contest. Please make sure the educator who is to receive the gift is in the US or Canada.
- Homeschool educators are eligible and encouraged.
- Parents may enter on behalf of their children’s teachers (or for themselves if they are educators)
- Grandparents also may enter
- Your dog may not enter unless they are donating the prize to their obedience teacher
- The WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THIS BLOG and THE FACEBOOK PAGE ON MAY 1st and for a few days after. PLEASE CHECK BACK to see if you are a winner!!
****************************************************************************************************************************
NEWSWORTHY-
WOW- thanks to all who read my last blog about why I think James Durbin should win American Idol! I know some new readers visited so welcome and thanks!
Thank you to all who voted for SIGNING FAMILIES™ as part of the Start Up Nation 2011 Leading Women in Business Contest. There are just a few more days of voting, so please if you have a moment- VOTE–
I will know next week if I was one of their Winners…. http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business/contestant/10186/index.php
Louise, every product you produce is of such high quality and really brings value to the user. I cannot wait to see what the folders look like. If I am chosen at random, I will donate the set to an elementary classroom in our VERY rural school in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Baby, Preschool Sign DVD would be donated to our library, for ALL in the community to share and benefit from! Keep rockin’ it, girl!
Wendy @Kidlutions
Louise thank you for all you do to bring signing to families! Your products are so useful for families and schools. Great work!
These ASL products are amazing. We never think about ASL as being a language we should all learn…but we really should! I can’t wait to see these folders. I hope I win!
When the child is not able to communicate his most primal needs, or connect with the surrounded community in an activities can satisfy his social needs, the outcome usually showing frustration, anger and disappointing in the whole skill.
To understand our kids and help them feel happy, we must look to their life wants and needs, and try to find pleasurable outlets for them. Search for any thread of communication that feels good to them. Find a way to enter the situation with the child and bring and bring the fun, and the situation will be more special by reinforcing the consistent attempt to connect. While holding the faith and willing to help our kids to communicate we can choose from different ways to support them and one of these ways is ASL. We can learn together how to step out of the box.
Comment left by fan of Signing Families on Facebook page
I am homeschooling my Deaf and autistic daughter. I could use these materials to help educate those around us, giving her an environment that would be even more conducive to learning.
Tammy Sandeen and family would really benefit from the ASL materials. This would really help the family communicate together and no one would be left out.
Thank you so much for creating this site! As the parent of a deaf child (now grown), I know how important sign language is as a language tool–whether the signers are deaf or not.
I know a homeschooler, Tammy Sandeen of the Detroit, Michigan area who is homeschooling 3 children, two of whom are special needs children. Signing is a big part of their educational communication. I would love to see such a deserving home educator receive the rewards from your contest here. 🙂
I wanted to mention a great mom who Home Schools her children. Tammy Sandeen teaches her children at home. Her 2 youngest are both special needs children and sign has been the best way for them to communicate with each other. in the beginning, it was their very own set of signs, but as they grow they are learning to sign to communicate with those outside the family. Tammy works hard every day to give her children the best education to help them interact with the outside world. Her daughter Catherine is 11 and smart as a whip! She works with the smaller 2 every day. Great job to them all.
I agree Tammy Sandeen is a wonderful mom. Tammy and her family would really benfit from the materials so everyone can communicate effectively in the home and outside the home.
CONGRATULATIONS! Amy you are the winner (or Tammy Sandeen) is of the SIGNING FAMILIES™ Educators giftpack. Please email me at info@SigningFamilies.com with your address (or Tammy’s) to receive your gift in the mail!
Congratulations, again!
I would like to leave an EXTREMELY positive comment about a dear woman – Tammy Sandeen. She is an active advocate for the Autism Community and has supported our autism charity since we started in 2007.
Out of over 200 (+) families that we actively try to help, Tammy has only ONCE asked for assistance from us.
Unfortunately, we cannot, at this time, provide her son, Rowan, with the sign language package that he needs, but we wish to encourage YOU to please choose this blessed family.
The Sandeen Family is a very, very special family to us in a “personal” way as well as via the charity. Tammy has worked hard to mentor other families and seems to never give up on anyone with whatever type of experience she can share.
Rowan would be richly rewarded by winning the free “tools” that you are offering!
Thanks so very much.
I’d like to support Tammy Sandeen in her quest to win this contest. I have so much admiration for her and the challenges she faces every day. She is a better person than I for sure, for sure!
As I said on Facebook, Sign has enriched not only the life of my special needs child but those around him. Thank you for this opportunity.
I’m Tammy Sandeen’s daughter Catherine, and my younger sibilings Meagan and Rowan use sign on a day-to-day basis and it really helps them communicate. We’d LOVE to have this to help them. They both have Autism, and Rowan has countless other disabilities, both medical and educationial. Sign really REALLY helps both of them. Plus, we’re all learning a new language that really helps us in day-to-day life, too. So I really hope we win. Thanks so much to all. =-] Smiles =-]
Since first meeting and working with Tammy Sandeen and Rowan in September 2008 professionally as his Early Intervention teacher, I have been continuously impressed by the amount off time, energy and knowledge Tammy uses daily to involve Rowan and his two older sisters in an ongoing 24-hour a day home schooling environment. Tammy has spent endless hours and resources educating herself in methods that will help her entire family continue to experience an incredible amount of very creative learning situations in a positive, nurturing environment. The entire family uses a variety of picture signs with Rowan because of his severely limited speech abilities and he is finally developing a positive sense of independence in expressing some of his feelings and needs. Tammy would gladly accept any ASL materials available and use them in numerous creative ways to help Rowan, his sister Meagan who also has limited communication skills and the rest of his family continue to learn, grow and prosper together as part of their home schooling lessons and enhance their skills as the most supportive, close, loving family I have had the honor and pleasure to know.
I believe that tammy Sandeen should be a winner because of the time and effort that she spends with her childern. She has had a very hard time learning how to cope with the problems handed her from day one. Her love of family is greater than most people’s. She helps people even when she is in need herself. I wish I could be nearer to help her and the kids more.
I’d like to add my voice to the growing chorus recommending Tammy Sandeen for those wonderful learning tools. She homeschools her kids, two of whom have special needs, (both developmental and medical) and these products could open up a whole new world for those kids and the people who interact with them.
Communication is a primary function in all species. Without it we do not live, we simply exist. With special needs children, Autism, in the case of Tammy Sandeen’s children, communication skills are impaired. One needs a special way to tell Mommy that it hurts. Sign is a God-send to these children and any tools to make teaching sign need to be made readily available. My vote is for Tammy Sandeen., a wonderful, caring talented, home-schooling Mom.
Tammy Sandeen should win this contest, because she is a wonderful and dedicated mother and person. She stays positive and always has a kind word for everybody despite the hardships she has to face.
Would love to see materials go to Tammy Sandeen for use with her children. Tammy embraces every tool she can to help her children communicate and improve the quality of their daily lives!
WOW- lots of friends of Tammy here! On May 1st I use Random.org to pick the lucky winner (each comment is offered a number by date and time of submission here and on Facebook)… Thanks again for all your contributions…
Also, everyone please be a friend and visit FACEBOOK for 411Voices.com and our website http://411Voices.com
Loads of educational information on this site, too..
I think this is an amazing idea and I would love for Tammy Sandeen and her wonderful family receiving this prize! Tammy is am amazingly strong, loving and supportive friend who is always there to listen and who does an astounding job of guiding AND teaching her beautiful children! xxx
Tammy Sandeen amazes me with her compassion, love, and intelligence as a mother and an educator. I admire her so much – her strength and courage, and her ability to be a wonderful advocate for special needs children. She and her family are most deserving of this prize!
I hope that my Aunt Tammy received her gift pack. Her familly is amazing in so many ways. Little Rowan fights for each breathe he takes but he smiles the whole way. Little Meagan tries to show people that she could be like them but also be herself. Cait protects both of them, if any adult tries to speak down to them, or another member of the world, she will astonish you with her opinions. And dont get me started on Tammy Sandeen. Her heart is 20 times the normal size. She was told to abort rowan, but she didnt. She knew she would give him the love and support needed. And to see him sign to us and use that adorable smile and meet our eyes, its amazing!!!! thank you Aunt Amy for helping out, but thank you Aunt Tammy for being my aunt and their mom. I still hope she recieved her prize, and thank you to everyone who helped her win!!!!