How to Teach ASL In Your Homeschool When You Don’t Know It
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*this is a sponsored post
Are you wanting to know how to teach ASL in your homeschool?
As homeschool moms, there are often things that we teach our children that we know a lot about ourselves, but what if you don’t know about the subject you want to teach?
The reality is that no teacher knows everything about every subject that they’ll have to teach their students about.
Homeschool moms are no different but that doesn’t mean that you can’t work on that subject with your child.
The key to knowing how to teach ASL in your homeschool is to access a good American Sign Language curriculum (like this one) and then practice and learn along with your kids.
Wondering where you might find resources without having to search all of the interwebs on your own? Keep reading…
How to Teach ASL In Your Homeschool When You Haven’t a Clue
Why Learn ASL?
I mean…obviously you can then communicate well with others that know and use ASL, but there are more reasons to learn ASL than just this.
If your family learns American sign language it is a really great way to be able to communicate with your children in situations where they need to keep quiet.
There will be times when they might need to tell you something in a public place and ASL will be super helpful if it is something they want to keep private.
Then there’s the ability to act as a translator when necessary or even as an occupation.
Above all, it’ll give your children an insight into learning another language and how it can be used to help others.
So, where do you start? Let’s begin.
#1 Invest in the Mr D Math – ASL 1 Curriculum
I have always had an interest in learning sign language so I was thrilled when the opportunity presented itself to take the ASL 1 Curriculum from Mr D Math.
While this post is sponsored, I can assure that I have personally taken the class and all opinions are my own.
I want to teach my children ASL as part of our homeschool but I wasn’t sure where to start.
Mr D Math offers many different online programs including:
- Math
- SAT Bootcamp
- and more…see here for the full list.
As my children are still younger, I decided to choose their ASL 1 curriculum.
I can share that it is a wonderful resource for learning American Sign Language.
Mr D Math offers 3 different ways of learning.
- Virtual Classroom (join in virtually to their weekly classes)
- Self-paced (take the course at your own pace)
- Co-op (join in on a local Mr D Math co-op)
I took the self-paced course and was given your own dashboard where I could access my classes.
The video lessons are high-quality and easy to follow. I really loved being able to rewind things if I needed to go over them a few times.
Along with the classes are offered monthly help sessions which take place via Zoom call.
Overall, there is plenty of support if you want it but it is not necessary to take part in it if you just want to do your own thing.
The Lessons
The course is broken down into lessons and after each lesson there is a homework assignment to complete.
Some of the assignments include submitting your own video of you demonstrating the signs that have been taught in the lesson.
Most of the assignments are graded which can be helpful if you’re wanting to add it to your child’s transcript.
Within the dashboard you’ll also find a second for announcements which is very helpful for keeping up to date with any discussions going on or important events such as the date and time for the next help session.
I found that the lessons were comprehensive but also fairly short which was good for keeping attention.
I found the teacher to be easy to understand and very engaging.
As someone who had never learned any kind of sign language, I was able to demonstrate several signs after just one lesson. This was incredibly motivating.
These classes are aimed at kids in the tween/teen age group, but I think that you can totally do it together as a homeschool family or just adapt it to work for younger children.
Check out Mr D Math ASL 1 here.
#2 Use Free Printables
Thankfully, there are a multitude of free printable resources for learning ASL. After just a short Pinterest search I found these great Alphabet Flashcards and this Preschool ASL Matching Game.
These would be perfect for adding to your morning basket or loop schedule as a good way to practice and keep learning fun with your kids.
There are lots of other printables available and some very affordable ones over at Teachers Pay Teachers.
Hang them up in your home so that you see them often and you’re more likely to remember to practice.
#3 Learn Along With Your Kids
I don’t know about you, but homeschooling has certainly given me new vigor for learning many of the subjects that I once loathed.
Its almost like being given a second chance.
How wonderful to have the opportunity to learn right alongside our children, right?
As adults, we have the advantage of being able to link so much of what we learn with real life situations. That makes learning all the more wonderful.
Take the time to learn ASL with your children. They will be more encouraged to learn when they see you taking a vested interest in the subject yourself.
The energy of the home is often led by the mom and your homeschool is no different.
Related: The Benefits of Homeschooling
#3 Practice, Practice, Practice
Use role play and create situations where your children have to use ASL to converse with one another.
Use printables, worksheets, flashcards, and posters to engage their little minds and solidify the language.
#4 Use Unit Studies
Often times, when our children are given context to a subject that they’re learning about it makes all the difference in how easily they understand it.
Adding different layers to the learning experience is such a helpful way of doing this.
Unit studies can make topics come alive and American Sign Language is no different.
I’ve found a couple of great ones to get you started below:
#5 Use Google & Youtube
There are so many more resources that you can add to your ASL learning experience which you can easily find on Google and Youtube.
There are lots of videos to watch and games to play. You just need to take the time to go ahead and look for them.
Conclusion
The longer you homeschool the more you realise that you don’t need to know everything in order to help your children learn.
You can learn alongside them or delegate teaching to those who are experts in the areas you struggle with.
Mr D Math is a perfect example and I highly encourage you to check out what they offer.
I hope that the suggestions and resources that I’ve shared here help you to get a start on how to teach ASL in your homeschool and that you enjoy making special memories with your kids!
