Try Mummenschanz.

My husband, kids, and I went to the New Year’s Eve performance of Mummenschanz.  The entire show is performed in silence–and we never see the performers faces until the curtain call!  The costumes, masks, lighting, and special effects are unique.  The concept is out of this world.

The first half hour of the show is riveting… and something you’ll never see anywhere else.  Some of it then becomes a bit confusing (very different humor) and at times slow, though each new vignette has a special flair.  Laughter from the audience–especially the engaging sounds of children laughing!–helps to add to the great entertainment provided by this talented troupe.   My own two children highly recommend it!

This Swiss performance group is in its fourth decade, having formed in 1972.  Two of the four performers are the original founders Mummenschanz.  They spent three years on Broadway in the late ’70s and continue sharing their talent with the world by traveling with their show.  Having recently toured Asia and the Middle East, they will be going on to South America and South Africa.

Mummenschanz is running at NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts through January 8th.  As a friend of Baby Fingers, enjoy this special offer:  $33 Mezzanine Seats (reg. $45); $48 Front Mezzanine & Rear Orchestra Seats (reg. $65); $56 Prime Orchestra Seats (reg. $75). Performance calendar available at SkirballCenter.NYU.edu or call 212-352-3101.  Use BWAYBOX as your code for the discounts.

Happy New Year!

Check out www.mybabyfingers.com/products.  We offer a wonderful series of sign language board books, in addition to our webinars, DVD, and a selection of other special gifts.

Perfect for anytime.

Take a look at www.johnyrodgers.com and read their blog all about their tour.  You can also listen to some clips of their music.  Pay close attention to the drummer– he’s my younger son’s drum teacher!

Happy Holidays!

This image on the right is the sign for Christmas, from Hands4Learning.com —->

Holiday time is a wonderful time to practice your signs for family members, favorite foods, and special things to do/places to go.  Remember that signing together can help solidify the bond between parents and children–regardless of their age or speech and language skills.  Enjoy the moments together!

~Think about your personal interests.  Do you like music?  Gymnastics?  Languages?

~Are you hoping to meet new friends, stimulate yourself as well as your baby, learn something new?

~What neighborhood works best for you?  What is offered there?

~Is your child on a consistent nap schedule?  Is there a program offering classes that work within that schedule?  Are there make-up classes offered?

~What is your budget?

If you’re interested in music and languages, learning to communicate with your baby, bonding as a family, and meeting other families with similar interests, Baby Fingers has what you’re looking for.  Read about all our classes, materials, and resources.  www.mybabyfingers.com

Exactly!  A Webinar is a sweet opportunity to learn something on-line, at your computer, in the comfort of your own home.  But you don’t have to do the research–you just log on and enjoy!

Baby Fingers offers Webinars, both live and recorded, to give you the opportunity to learn to sign with your child even if we don’t offer classes close to your home.  The webinars are interactive and engaging for baby and grown up alike.

Check out www.mybabyfingers.com/products.html for more details.  You can purchase webinars directly from our site via pay pal– there are plenty of recordings available, and we can schedule a live on-line class for you with family and friends as well!  Stay tuned for upcoming live webinars that will be offered to the general parenting public!  Adult ASL Webinars will be available soon too!

Whether you intend to incorporate sign language in your life for the long term or simply during this pre-verbal/developing verbal time, watch in awe as your baby or toddler discovers the world of language. See the research come to life, as music and sign language both aid in the development of language and literacy.

The set is quite special—simple enough for a children’s production, yet colorful and welcoming.  An oversized Freckleface Strawberry storybook openes and closes to reveal different places, such as the school playground, classroom, dance studio, and Strawberry’s bedroom.  A swing comes down from the fly space above, as do several props, and the jungle gym is around the band.

A musical duo accompanies the cast, with keyboards and drums/percussion.  Placed on a moveable platform right on stage, they become part of the tight ensemble– a cast of only seven.

While I am not a huge fan of adults portraying children in theater (I direct youth theater and much prefer children playing children), there were some high points in the performance.  The choreography was wonderful, and the cast was quite adept at dancing.  Jessica Bishop, who played the Ballet Girl, was perfectly cast in terms of her strong and graceful classical ballet.  Joey Haro, playing the part of Danny, showed off some capable tap skills which were later repeated by the full ensemble.  In the part of Strawberry, Hayley Podschun was clearly a capable actor/singer/dancer though acting as a seven year old – in my opinion – interfered with her vocal ability.  Mykal Kilgore, in the part of Harry, was quite strong vocally – his singing was impressive.  And overall, there were some nice harmonies in the score.

The show runs an hour, which is a comfortable length for children of all ages.  Based on the directing choices, Freckleface Strawberry seems to appeal most to children ages 6 and under.  The message, however, of believing in yourself and being proud of who you are, reaches audiences young and old alike.

Benefit: Your child will be able to communicate using signs from a real and complete language.
Myth: ASL signs are abstract and too difficult for a baby or young toddler to produce.

Benefit: Your child could begin to communicate with signs as early as 6-8 months of age.
Myth: Sign language requires coordination of at least a 2 yr. old.

Benefit: Signing babies often become early talkers.
Myth: If a baby or toddler uses sign language, then speech will not develop on time, if at all.

At 9 months of age, Maddie started (Baby Fingers) baby sign language classes with her mom. By 12 months, she was imitating all the signs from class and at 15 months, she was able to say and appropriately use all the words! Whenever mom did not understand her speech, Maddie simply repeated the word accompanied by the sign!

To sign “teacher” place both hands at your temples in a flat “o” shape (all fingertips resting on your thumbs) and pull outward away from your head as if sharing information.

You can find demonstrations of these signs and more on our website links page—www.mybabyfingers.com.

I hope you and your children have had a smooth start to the school year.  My 6th grader and 4th grader ( !! ) are off to a good start with excellent teachers in a school we love.

At home we have fire extinquishers, ipecac syrup, ice packs, CPR certification…  But as parents, are we ever truly prepared for emergencies?

For many years I worked as a music therapist in pediatric medical settings.  I’ve had young patients in hospice care, others in the operating room, some in rehab care for burns or traumatic brain injury… I thought for sure I was prepared for anything motherhood might throw my way.

Yet when we had to bring each of our children to the emergency room once, my emotions were through the roof.  Zeke suffered from croupe at age 3 — it was our first experience with this and he wound up getting 9 hours of albuteral in the ER.  He couldn’t breathe, which was really scary.  Fortunately, while both our kids have had croupe since that time, we’ve learned that cold air does the trick and no more ER visits have been necessary.  At least for that…. Sian followed me out of our apartment at age 4 and his pinky got smashed in the door.  We saw the bone–which was also scary!  Yet while he was waiting for his x-ray in the ER, he joked with the nurse about his favorite activity at the time– picking his nose!  It was not a life threatening emergency which was (needless to say) a tremendous relief.  Sian’s humor, however, provided the most relief.

To sign “humor” or “funny” in ASL, take your index and middle fingers from one hand and brush them multiple times on the side of your nose like this:  http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/HUMOR.

Children are so resiliant and their character can provide parents with the preparation and relief needed in emergencies…and on a daily basis.