Teaching Sign Language in Your Preschool Sunday School Class

There is just something so wonderful about teachingBingo is a fun game to play as well. You can make
sign language to preschoolers. They seem totallyyour own cards and use round cereal pieces as
open to this new skill because it gives them a chancemarkers. Place a different sign language motion in
to show-off some stuff that others might not know.each square of the card. You be the call-out card by
It also gives young children the opportunity tomaking a motion, and the students need to find that
understand that there are real people who need tomotion on their card and mark it. The first child to
speak using American Sign Language (ASL), and youfind three or five in row (depending on how big you
can be an important part of teaching them in yourwant the cards to be) will win a small prize. You can
Sunday School class.make all the cards the same for an easy way to
There are a plethora of useful resources that youplay, or place the motions in different squares on
can use to teach ASL to young children. Oneeach card for a harder version.
particularly good site on the web is Deaf Missions.Once you have taught and practiced some ASL with
They have a dictionary of religious signs, such as foryour students, consider inviting a deaf person into
Jesus, Bible, minister, and many more. The neat thingyour class to see what your children have learned.
about this site is that they have an animated cartoonThis could be someone in your congregation, or
that shows the sign language in action. Another greatperhaps parents of your class might know someone
resource is the book, "My first book of Signwho would be willing to come in for a few minutes
Language" Illustrated by Joan Holub (ISBNon a Sunday morning. In fact, you might even have a
0-8167-4033-X). And, if videos are your thing, you willfew deaf people that you could invite for a party.
want to check out "Sign Songs: Fun Songs to SingYour class could sing a few songs and talk to the
and Sign" Aylmer press (ISBN 0-932314-45-7).person, although it would be very limited. Seeing a
Sign language games are a lot of fun to play inreal person who uses ASL will amaze your students.
Sunday School class, and give preschoolers plenty ofSee how fun teaching ASL can be. You will feel a
practice using it. Have children stand in a circle. Starthuge sense of accomplishment, your students will
with one child signing the letter "A" to the person toenjoy the process, and it is a skill they could grow
her right. Then that person will sign "B" to the personupon, if they really like it enough to do so. Get
to his right, and keep going until the whole alphabetstarted with your teaching ideas today because
has been done. Starting with the alphabet is usuallythere is no better time than the present.
the best course to learning ASL.