Now I'll never get to see the Oprah Show live....

In the 7th grade I was tested for GATE and one of the questions was "What public figure do you admire and why?" My answer was Oprah Winfrey, I think we still referred to her by both first and last names back then. She reaches people on a level that no other talk show host can, she inspires with real ideas to take action, she has empathy like nobody else does, it is all over her face, right? This award came MUCH later but the quote from her acceptance speech of the Bob Hope Humanitarian award in 2002 at the Emmy's sums up why I admire her:

We all just want to know that we matter..... The greatest pain in life is to be invisible. What I've learned is that we all just want to be heard. And I thank all the people who continue to let me hear your stories, and by sharing your stories, you let other people see themselves and for a moment, glimpse the power to change and the power to triumph. Read the entire speech here.

On May 25th, we will gather together to watch Oprah's last episode on the big screens in the beautiful bay front ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay. Grab your girlfriends and come together to laugh and cry as we experience the end of an era. Enjoy the fabulous vendors in the marketplace where you will be pampered, transformed and entertained! You don't want to miss all of the special treats you will enjoy at the largest viewing party in San Diego for Oprah's last episode!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Oprah Show Viewing at 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION:

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina

1441 Quivira Road
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San Diego, CA 92109

Speaking of friends....Oprah always includes Gayle so you should bring your BFF too! In fact, we have a BFF special savings!

GET YOUR TICKETS:

$25.00 per person

$40.00 for you & your BFF! (savings of $10)

There will be a $3 processing fee.

I'm very excited to have my VERY FIRST BLOG GIVEAWAY! Yes, you could actually win a pair of tickets to this coveted viewing party!

How To Enter: Simply comment below about a memorable Oprah moment

Everyone has one shot at this giveaway - if you want to double your chances then have your BFF follow my blog and enter and if your BFF wins they'd better be takin' you!

I'm quite certain by the end of this contest we'll have the 50 followers needed for me to get those videos shared here of me signing 3 classic children's books. Another good reason to share this giveaway with your friends, right?

Winners announced Sunday May 22!

Consignment is the New Nordy's

I'm serious. I overhear moms all the time now talking about how they scored a great deal on a gently used Easter dress or found someone with the same cute shoe habit for their little girl. In the past economy (let me emphasize past, because truly it is behind us - home prices went up 11% last month) we all learned how to stretch our dollars and that learning is going to stick with us. If you have yet to hit up the biggest and best consignment sale by Trunk Treasures you could be missing out - on some serious cash!

I once bought Kyle this awesome Hurley tshirt with cool studded pocket jeans on consignment. I never would have paid regular price for this awesome outfit that fit his personality to the tee. Every time I dressed him in that 18 month outfit I would smile with pride at how little it had cost me and how friggin' cute it was on him!

That is why I want you to know about Trunk Treasures whether you're there to shop or sell. This event is so big it is a 6 day affair. How's that for serious bargain shopping? View the entire schedule here. What's great for you is the registration for consignors has been extended to this Friday April 29 and there's an especially great bonus - consignors get to attend the presale which means you get first dibs! This is where to look to determine if you have stuff worthy of being in this high end consignment sale. A freind of mine was telling me she knows moms who have made $600 by unloading all their childrens outgrown clothes and toys. Imagine what kind of summer fun you can have with that kind of cash! Go ahead, I'll bet it will take you less than an hour to go through your drawers and closets to gather up what you don't use anymore but is in great condition and ready to be loved by the next family.

Now, I know a lot of us moms are great about passing stuff on to our friends, that's all fine and dandy, but believe me no one is going to be bitter if you decide reselling is the best way to help you pay for the next full year of clothing - and by the way all things that do not sell and are not picked up by consignors on the last day are donated to charity - so you're still helping others!

If you have young ones, this is a great lesson in money management to teach them. Remember lessons are best taught by example rather than by words.

New Consignors Registration Be sure to tell Stacy that Sign4Baby sent you ; ) Enjoy saving and selling!

Owen signing spider

When I saw the spider I had just opened the screen door and it was Right in front of my face... what's the first thing I did? Go grab the video camera - or iPhone rather ; )

You can probably understand Owen saying a variation of bug/spider in the background at the beginning. The funny thing was we turned it into a signing experience - he was doing his little "dance/sing" which I understood him to want to talk about the spider in his most familiar context "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" pardon the mommy singing... I know I do not have a melodious voice... however what I know more importantly is that Owen does not mind one bit.

Soon I shall add another video demonstrating the signs for Itsy Bitsy Spider using ASL instead of the gestures we all learned growing up.

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Natural Baby Pros Interviews me for Practicioner Spotlight

1. What is your relationship to fertility, pregnancy, birth, and/or mommy/baby care, and how does your work relate to it?

I educate parents on how to effectively communicate with their baby using baby sign language, or as I like to say help parents "Discover what your baby is thinking!" Simply learning the signs to teach your baby is not enough because as most of us are aware, adults and babies learn differently and my role is to advise and coach both in our fun learning environment.

2. What inspired you to do the work you do?

While I took a leave of absence in my daughter's first year of life I would gather with our playgroup and I'd share with the other moms how to sign with their babies. Upon returning to my corporate job, I was pregnant again. Everyone joked that I had left this way... and asked if I'd planned to have another so soon because I was known as quite the planner. My response to that is that greater plans were laid out for me, wink.

Amberly was 17 months old when Kyle was born, and it was a rocky start. With a short 2 months to bond with him and exhausting all "eligible leave" on the books I struggled with the out of balance feeling daily. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression, and did not know enough about how to find holistic alternatives to the medicine that was prescribed. I was at a loss for resources when I told my doctor I did not want to take the medicine and little else was offered.

Driving to work one day I called my husband crying. He told me not to go to work, call them and resign and go home. I'd never done that before, quit a job without having another lined up, that sounded scary. I went to work then came home, had a long discussion with my husband where he encouraged me to do some soul searching and not work for a paycheck but to do work that fulfilled me.... and probably then it would be less painful to leave the kids behind.

In my soul searching I had two main ideas, create a baby shower gift basket company or teach baby sign language. I'd been approached by moms about creating gift basket as the gifts I chose were things that really helpful them, you know the kind, gripe water, teething tablets, Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block or Dr. Sear's The Baby Book. What drew me to decide on teaching baby sign language was the long lasting impact I could make on people's lives.

So often I attribute my inspiration to start Sign4Baby came from my children, and in part that is true, but the push to be inspired came from my husband Cory... and the fact that he is still a partner in the juggling act of being a work at home mom is pretty incredible.

3. What is the most important thing a pregnant woman or a woman trying to conceive should know about her body, giving birth, and caring for herself and her baby, based on your personal and professional experience?

Trust your instincts and realize that planning is great, but sometimes plans change and to be open to that. I hope to be able to share my birth story in the future, but one thing I tell moms that helped me achieve a natural birth was not being rigid in the plan. That sense of "flow" (even though parts are chaotic at times) is really needed and occurs when you're open to it. I'm laughing now because I'm thinking of Disney's Special Agent Oso "It's all part of the plan... more or less!"



4. What is your biggest obstacle in supporting pregnant or trying-to-conceive women and/or babies?

Oh, there's a whole list of challenges, but I'm learning to see obstacles as a way to create a solution. As a new business owner it was getting the word out to moms about the service I offered, I knew that if enough moms just knew what it was I offered and how much their day to day life would be altered from my education that they'd be seeking my services instead of me seeking families to serve. That's why I keep saying I wished Natural Baby Pros existed earlier, not just for families to find my service, but for the resources I so desperately needed with all my questions pertaining to health. Overall, creating awareness on your own is time consuming, which is why I so value word of mouth referrals... and as you can see they are abundant now.



5. Tell me your best success story.

Easy. I was still pregnant with Owen and my due date was was just a few weeks away. An email came through for a private in home lesson with a little girl about 16 months old, Grace. She is blind. Mom was at a loss for how to reduce everyone's frustration, especially at snack and meal time and she sought my services. At first I was unsure if I should take this client as I didn't have a specialization in helping families with special needs. I'd read something about doubt and procrastination stemming from fear, and decided I would at least try to help this family, that the worst case scenario is that they ask for a refund and I'd have donated my time in researching this scenario and I could in fact learn a lot from it.

Shortly after I arrived and we'd reviewed only a few signs with mom and caregiver it was apparent Grace was hungry. Because this was the area they were experiencing the most frustration it was great for me to observe and help, which is a key factor in the one-on-one private lesson. Grace's frustration was greater than what most of us moms experience with picky eaters. Even without words, a toddler who can see is able to point and identify what they would like when options are presented. I stepped in and showed Grace the signs for all the foods that were on her high chair tray. After a few tries at this the frustration diminished and Grace was showing us the signs for all her favorite snack foods! Snack time was over and we observed a happy playful Grace exploring the living room. I'd been there less than 20 minutes and Julie announced "It's already worth every penny I paid you!" By the time I left Grace had shown us 5 signs, and her family was armed with lots of useful scenarios in which to practice their signs. Not only did Julie continue on to bring Grace to a 6 week class with me, when Grace's little sister was ready for a class, Julie hosted a few of my classes at her home.

I took a risk, did a little extra work, believed in myself, and what do you know... it paid off!

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

She Teaches Babies to Talk with their Hands

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Signing Story Time is Nourishing Baby's Brain

How many times have you heard that children are like sponges, soaking up all that’s around them? You’ve probably also heard that you should read to your children daily. Twenty minutes a day is like exercise for the brain. It makes sense, we want to enhance their language acquisition, provide them with tools for learning, give them a head start in school, and all the other things that go hand in hand with having a healthy well adjusted, love-to-learn kid. Did you know you can make an even bigger impact during story time by signing words from the story to your child? It’s true. While babies and toddlers may not recognize words or letters on paper, they can easily identify the symbolic sign for various objects and activities.

Research is showing that signing in the classroom is making learning to read easier. If we can engage a child in more than one of the learning styles, they experience greater success in learning. The left side of the brain is the language center, while the right side of the brain is visual based. When parents speak as they sign, both sides of the brain are activated to learn. (Marilyn Daniels – Dancing with Words)

A good story time program will engage the audience using all four main learning styles; visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. Visual learners will enjoy both illustrations and photograph images in books, felt boards or puppets to help tell a story, and signing key words to talk about the book. Not only is signing a visual language, it promotes eye contact and draws a longer attention span. Auditory learners enjoy music, singing and chanting and benefit from the inflection and tone of the story teller’s voice. Speaking the words you sign with your baby are just as important as the words you read aloud from a book, it is building an auditory association to the sound and symbol. Kinesthetic learners love participatory story times where they are invited to clap hands, get up to dance, or bring a toy that corresponds to the theme of the story time. Signing is not only using the hands, a lot of facial expression and body language are incorporated to fully convey a message. Tactile learners love the ability to participate in telling the story with sign language. Finger plays such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” have been made popular with gestures that children like to mimic.

The following tips can be applied to reading and signing, coupled together you’ll feed your baby’s hungry brain.

READING
1. Repetition. Children benefit from reading the same book again and again as they become familiar with sequencing, they love being able to predict what comes next in the story and being correct.
2. Establish a routine. Reading a book before bed or naptime is a great way for a baby to wind down.
3. Make it fun. If your toddler wants to flip through the pages quickly to find their favorite page, go ahead and spend time talking about what interests them most.
4. Encourage participation. Pointing, page turning, and talking about the book, not just the written words are all great ways for a baby to begin the lifelong love of reading.
5. Be creative. When you find new ways to tell the same story it not only keeps your child engaged, it keeps you engaged as well.

SIGNING
1. Repetition. Signing a word over and over again helps a baby pick up the meaning of the sign, much the way we repeat words when using parantese with babies (the high pitched sing song repetition of words caregivers use when speaking to babies).
2. Establish a routine. Once you’ve begun signing in the context of reading books, or any other situation, continue to do so and your child will pick the signs up quickly.
3. Make it fun. Try signing when you’re laughing and playing, your baby takes note of what you’re doing and is encouraged to chime in.
4. Encourage participation. Asking your baby to show you the sign is great practice to build up to initiating conversation.
5. Be creative. A novel game is one of the greatest signing opportunities. One of our favorites is This Little Piggy, signing pig each time you wiggle each little toe, and of course making a great pig snort or squeal!

Take the traditional well known preschool finger plays a step farther and learn the signs for words that are important to your child, Soon your child will have the building blocks for literacy and the confidence necessary to further describe their thoughts and feelings.

This article was originally submitted and published in My Hometown Feb 2011 pg 21.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

Do I Really Need a Class to Learn How to Sign with my Baby?

In short, no. I certainly didn't need a class to begin signing with Amberly, but I have an advantage over most people, I signed since infancy.... it is indeed MY first language. There are a lot of resources out there where people can learn the signs themselves AND plenty of those resources are FREE. Why am I telling you this if the basis of my business is to enroll families in my classes? Well, I even share some of these online resources with parents in my classes. I'm a firm believer in having an abundance of information from which to draw. It is human nature to learn in a social environment. Most people who buy exercise equipment for their private use at home eventually slack off, one reason why gyms are so popular, why Stroller Strides and Mommy and Me Yoga classes are popular with new moms. When you have a weekly commitment to show up and participate you will gain more than just what you signed up for - "baby sign language know how"



1. A reason to get out of the house

2. Meeting new people to connect with

3. Insight on parenting dos and don'ts

4. Live coaching where learning is fluid

5. Answers to your questions from ME

6. Answers to your questions from PEERS

7. Your baby gets socialization

8. Safe environment to practice

9. No accidental tv babysitting

10. Desire to expand your ASL knowledge and vocabulary




Rather than paraphrase what Allison Wardrip says about enrolling in a Sign, Play & Learn class, I'll just share it here verbatim:

My daughter and I recently met Joann at a baby sign story time at our local library. After a fun and informative story time, I learned that Joann was starting a new 6-week series of baby sign classes in our area. My husband and I decided to take the baby sign classes, although we debated about whether or not the classes would be beneficial. We already had a baby signs book that we were using with our daughter. In addition, I had some experience with basic sign language in my previous career in early intervention for children with developmental delays, particularly Autism. The children I worked with (ages 3 and under), usually had difficulty using verbal language to communicate; therefore, we often introduced basic signs to help them communicate (i.e. eat, drink, all done). Through my work with these children, I saw the usefulness of sign language; most of the children successfully learned how to use sign to communicate their basic desires. So, utilizing my previous work experience and our baby signs book, we began introducing some signs to our daughter when she started eating solid foods (around 6 mos), such as eat, more, and all done, as well as labeling some of the foods she was eating. We continued to do this during mealtimes for several months, but she didn’t seem to be picking up the signs and wouldn’t use them to communicate with us. When she was 11 months, we started the baby sign classes and learned the importance of introducing signs of interest to our baby during fun, teachable moments. For example, our daughter loves music, so we switched to using the ASL signs while singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and, sure enough, not a week went by after our first sign class and our daughter started doing the sign for spider on her own! My husband and I are so glad we went ahead with the sign classes! We have enjoyed the interactive, kid-friendly, fun, and informative atmosphere of the baby sign classes (much more beneficial than just referencing a baby signs book!)! In addition to learning the essential baby signs, we also get a lot of helpful tips and tricks regarding child development in general that Joann intersperses throughout the classes. The best part is that we can tell our daughter is already benefiting from the sign classes! Since we’ve learned to capitalize on her interests, she has already started to pick up new signs, the most recent being “friend.” We know our daughter can understand a lot more than she can verbalize to us and we’re excited to continue to give her a means to communicate with us through signing as her verbal language is developing.

I guess I can relate to a mom feeling like she can do it on her own. As a new mommy I didn't want someone else spoiling my experience of "being the ONE" who showed my daughter how to do things, after all I'd taken time away from my employment to get to enjoy all those experiences with her and bond with her. I did not understand what all the moms around me were doing taking their baby to Stroller Strides or Swim Lessons... after not having any success with teaching our kids to swim on our own, we enrolled in an 8 week class with A Splashing Success and after that class I finally had the confidence I needed to take my kids to the pool, the safety instruction, the little tips and songs we used, the consistency of doing what we learned over and over again in a social environment... all of it played a role in Amberly learning how to swim this summer!

We pick up little things on the peripheal when we are surrounded by others trying to attain the same goal. I am reminded of what Eve Moran once said to me about her business... if we didn't all live within our own four walls and still had community living the way it used to be mothers wouldn't have a reason to seek out lactation support, they'd have a whole network of family and friends that were familiar enough and could help. Signing with babies is becoming so popular that in the next 5 years I'm certain that it will be the normal thing for a baby to use sign language and not the unique experience that only a fraction of parents embark on. I look forward to seeing that result, as children who sign are more self aware and this leads to a great impact for our society, but that shall be saved for a future blog post.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at sign4baby.  Look for her webinar coming out in 2013!