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

We have been here for 2 months now. And since our move I don't think I have posted one entry. I'm so sorry. We have been recreating this place and so busy! I thought I would take a moment to share.

My husband took the garage and turned it into an activity center. He took out the garage door and built a wall with windows in it's place. Then he built in floor to ceiling cabinets on one entire wall. He mounted a AC/heater unit in the wall and insulated the entire room. He also trimmed out the ceiling. It looks so awesome.

Then we had a lady come out and score the concrete floor in the old quilt room. It looks beautiful. My husband then hung shelving along one entire wall. This room is now our Library and Resource Room. Now that the construction is just about finished we now need to organize both rooms and get them in operating condition. Lots of work on our hands.

My husband's next projects include a greenhouse and a covered porch on the bunkhouse. So much going on around here. As of right now my computer is not even set up - so you can see why not much has been posted here.

Diane and I are currently working on developing a manual for parents on how to read to their deaf/HH chidlren. And of course all this is on top of our regular duties. Monday evenings we host a group Bible stusy, Tuesdays are sign classes all day and Thursdays are scrapbook days. Weekends usually hold retreats and/or classes. And occasionally we travel to set up booths.

We are really loving it here! I promise, once my computer gets set back up, I will contribute sometime weekly to my blog page.

We have been busy moving, so I haven't had much time to write.

Shelby went to Texas School for the Deaf's Summer School program for the last two weeks. She really enjoyed it and seemed to make friends. I was hoping she would pick up some more sign language to teach us, but all she has taught me so far is everyone's sign name at camp. LOL.

I will be at Isaiah's Place July 16-22 helping out there and then at TSD for the TAPED conference. Busy, busy, busy . . . . 

We just got back from Silent Summer Camp in Fort Worth, Texas. I got to be a counselor and Shelby was a camper. Our goal for the camp was to expose both of us to ASL and to use it. It is the best way to learn and practice any language. We definately got to do that this past week!

It took me the first few days to figure out what the kids were saying. I'm so used to signing and talking together that when we were just using ASL I got lost. It was a really good experience for me. By the end of the week, though, I felt I could communicate easier and not so frustrated.

We got to go horseback riding, fishing and canoeing at the YMCA camp, Fort Worth Zoo, Six Flags, Science Museum and OMNI theater, and swimming. We had a really good time. It was well planned out and lots of fun.

We made some new friends that I hope Shelby will be able to see again. I also made friends that I hope to stay in touch with. My favorite part of the whole week was seeing the kids use the language. I found it really cool. Can't think of another word to describe it.

I also got to see Shelby change how she signed. The beginning of the week she mostly hung out with the adults and used more voice than sign until she figured out that everyone knew how to sign and she didn't need to voice here. Slowly she started to mingle with the kids and stopped voicing. They called her "Bossy" because she told everyone what to do regardless of the fact that she was only 3' tall. Which also gained her the nickname "Bulldog" so lovingly given to her by the paramedic.

We really had a good time and I am going to miss it next year since we will no longer be in Texas.

Thanks Stephanie for a great week!

That is the basic reaction I got from my daughter this weekend. She is 7 and been deaf her entire life. We were attending a Deaf Camp that we have attending numerous times before this weekend, but my baby girl finally understood that deaf meant that she couldn't hear sounds like Mommy and Daddy do.

You see she has a best friend at Deaf Camp, a little boy that is the same age, and deaf. My daughter, Shelby, wears a Cochlear Implant, voices and signs, but her friend has no aids and only signs. I was trying to explain to her that he is deaf and you have to sign, he can't hear you. She kept telling me ok, ok, ok, but she kept talking to him. I had to take her aside and try to explain to her again that she must sign because he is deaf like you and can't hear, but deaf in her world meant that you know sign language and might wear something on your ear.

So I took off her speech processor, the external part to her Cochlear Implant, and asked her "Can you hear right now?" She said, "No, no! Give me back my processor!" Signing to her I said, "Your friend can't hear. Right now I have to sign to you because you can't hear me, that is why you have to sign to your friend. Being deaf means that you can't hear." She cried "I want the doctor's to fix my ears!" So then I cried.

I  explained that she is special because that is just the way God made her. Same reason Mommy can't see very well, you can't hear very well. God makes us each very different for His reasons. She began to smile and her friend came and found her and off they went to play. Shelby went the rest of the day with no speech processor and fit in just fine with the rest of the deaf people there. She didn't once ask me for the speech processor that day.

The next morning we got up and she wanted to watch a movie and wanted her speech processor. I gave it to her. During church that morning, she could hear the music, but for the first time she signed the music! I cried. I have never been able to get her to sign the songs during church even though I sign and two other girls always sign the songs. It was beautiful!

Once home we were talking about her being deaf again and how special she was. And she told me that I must be deaf too because I sign. So once again I had to explain to her that I could hear, but God made me different too. And I'm sure I will have to have this conversation many more times, but for now, she is ok with being deaf.