A place to gather and learn together as we homeschool our deaf and hard-of-hearing children. I am a hearing parent with a deaf daughter and have felt led to share what I've learned and my experiences down this delightful path. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Mon, 5 May 2008 11:30:00 -0500 Mon, 5 May 2008 11:30:00 -0500 We can now be found at Talking Fingers.  This new site is much easier for me to give you links, pictures, and categories for the articles. Go check it out and let me know what you think. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/527357/ Mon, 5 May 2008 11:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/527357/ I am working on moving this blog to blogger.com. I will post the new address when the page is finished. I felt it would be easier to blog if all my blogs were kept together. Thank you for being patient with me as I make this transition. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/520966/ Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:01:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/520966/ Starting soon I will be writing teaching and learning tips at Isaiah's Place. Through these "Learning and Teaching Moments" I hope to share a little of what we do at home educating our deaf daughter, a teaching or learning tip, and a short review of educational material. Diane and I would love your feedback on what you find useful and what you would like to see on this page.    I will begin posting articles and links here again. Sorry about the delay. Life has been crazy for us as we have moved many times over the past two years. We are settling in again and I am excited about getting back in the saddle again! We are expecting our 4th child this summer, so I am sure there will be another pause around July sometime. LOL http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/517956/ Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/517956/ I am sooo sorry that I have not been updated this site. I do have many more reviews to add, but have not had the time to get them up. I could list a thousand excuses, but it won't do any good. I just wanted to send a note to say that I have not forgotten about Talking Fingers! For general family catch-up information you can always find us at The Zoo I Call Home. Also please feel free to download the above toolbar. It will give you quick links to deaf homeschooling sites and homesteading webpages. It also includes quick links directly to your email accounts (my favorite feature) and several games to play. Or listen to your favorite radio station while you work and search using the Google search bar. Lots of goodies included on one toolbar. I have even included a pop-up blocker. Please feel free to email me with questions or if there is a specific curriculum you would like reviewed or if you would like to review a curriculum you found useful, let me know. The more information we can put out there, the better job we can do homeschooling our kids! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/421430/ Mon, 5 Nov 2007 13:31:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/421430/ This past year I upgraded my cell phone and was left with my old phone. Not in good enough condition to sell, but not trash either. My husband and I decided to give it to Shelby, our deaf daughter. She is 8, almost 9, and we have been working on reading. We felt that the cell phone had two promising advantages. First, she would be able to communicate with family members that live far away.  She has a CI, but using the phone is still difficult for her and the recieving person. Now she can text message cell phones and email addresses. Second, this gave her exposure to words and motivation to read. It has been great! I wanted to pass along this idea to others with struggling readers. We try not to use IM lingo when texting Shelby and help her formulate sentences. It is a great learning tool. It costs us about $20/month. It adds up, but well worth it!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/396810/ Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:12:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/396810/ Doorposts   This collection of these easy to follow patterns is a wonderful addition to your deaf child’s spiritual upbringing. I really enjoy Doorpost’s illustrations and these projects are not an exception. Hands-on and visual projects are perfect for the deaf learner.   The Moses Doll kit includes directions and pattern to make a hand sized felt doll. This is a beginner level sewing project with pleasing results. Like all of Doorpost’s products, these are very economical and use easy to find materials.   The Jonah & the Big Fish kit is similar to the Moses kit but it has more pieces to assemble. This one would be very helpful for re-telling this favorite Bible story.   Another neat method of re-telling Bible stories are Doorpost’s Bible Paper Dolls. They come on sturdy card stock, ready to be colored and cut out for hours of fun. The set includes three paper dolls and outfits for Bible Characters such as Mary, Ruth, Rahab, Queen Esther, John the Baptist, Pharoah, King Solomon and more. Also includes the Armor of God! Very detailed drawings! Fabulous for recreating Bible stories. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/387179/ Fri, 7 Sep 2007 15:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/387179/ My First Report "Focus on the World" - Hewitt Homeschooling Resources The comes pre-punched for placement in a notebook. This makes it easy for the student to work on one report at a time, then place it in a notebook as finished. You could also add pages if the student did other projects for that country. This would make a nice "World Studies" notebook - for all you notebooking fans. Each report follows the same outline, making it easy for the student to follow. Each report includes vacabulary words, questions to aid discussion, and world map with specific country marked. Some of the vocabulary words can be referenced to suggested companion book Window on the World. There are thirteen reports covering: The Middle East; Northeast Africa; Northwest Africa; Southern Africa; Europe and the Artic Circle; Canada and the USA; Central America; Mexico and Caribbean Islands; South America; Eastern Asia; Souteast Asia; and Australia and Oceania. In the back of the packet there is an unit study and master copies included. The unit study has ideas covering Bible/character, history/geography/social studies, reading, language, math, science/health, physical education, music, resources, world missions, field trips and art. There are reproducable maps and handwriting pages to be used for every country. These would fit great in your notebook. The only adjustment needed for the deaf student would be a few of the unit study activities.But they give so many choices, that this shouldn't be a problem. Just skip over the ones that requiring listening and move on to the next suggestion. The reading section just includes books and poems to be read. If your student can read, then they could do this alone. But better yet, sign these stories for your student. This would be equivelant to reading aloud. Some of the suggested reading may be hard to find at a library, but just find books about the country of study to read. Most of the language activities would be great word studies for your deaf student. It is vocabulary work and emphasizes spelling and definitions. Some of the activities can be skipped without missing out on anything. These materials are deaf friendly and look like fun! The handwriting sheets are for 1st through 2nd grade, but if your older child needs help with writing reports, the book is not written in a babyish way. I would just leave out the handwriting pages. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/373797/ Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:24:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/373797/ Click on the banner ad at the top of this page for my personal toolbar. This is so cool! From this toolbar you can search google or my blog pages. You can stay updated on new posts on my blog pages. You can check you email and be notified when new mail arrives. This is a great way to stay in touch and it is very useful. I traded this toolbar with my google toolbar! Try it out. It is awesome! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/367368/ Fri, 3 Aug 2007 09:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/367368/ I am trying out a new forum for discussing raising and educating our deaf children. I hope this will give us an opportunity to share information and teach each other. Check it out at http://talkingfingers.freeforums.org. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/366225/ Wed, 1 Aug 2007 07:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/366225/ The Frances Study Guide By Valerie Bendt   This charming book uses the Frances series written by Russell Hoban to encourage the love of reading in the beginning reader. The books used are Bedtime for Frances, A Baby Sister for Frances, Bread and Jam for Frances, A Birthday for Frances, Best Friends for Frances and A Bargain for Frances. Bendt provides an overview and discussion questions for each story along with beginning reading activities. There are puzzles, game suggestions, handwriting practice, and coloring sheets provided with variety between each story. There are many questions for each story to ensure comprehension of the story. This is a great tool for the deaf student, since sometimes a deaf child tends to fill in the missing information. The goal of this book is to enjoy reading a story together and encouraging a love for reading. If this love is acquired at a young age, then your child will always have knowledge at his fingertips. I found with my daughter that a love for reading wasn’t there because she didn’t understand what the words on the page meant. I remember the first story I signed to her – The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Once she realized that the words on the pages created a fascinating story she wanted more and more. The Frances Study Guide does just that through a series of stories that teach meaningful lessons. Now the stories will need to be signed and not read aloud, but this can easily be done. I would suggest using these books up to age 9-10 without offending your deaf learner. After that the stories and activities may seem babyish. The activities are really geared at a young learner. You know your child better than anyone else, so you decide what is appropriate and what is not. While using this book with my children I did what fit into my homeschool and didn’t feel guilty about skipping some projects. We used this as a supplement to our regular curriculum, but it could easily be a nice six week study for Pre-K through 1st grader. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/320876/ Sat, 28 Apr 2007 15:18:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/talkingfingers/320876/