| Signing Time! | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by | Rachel de Azevedo Coleman Emilie de Azevedo Brown |
| Directed by | Damian Dayton |
| Starring | Rachel de Azevedo Coleman Leah Coleman Alex Brown Aaron de Azevedo (Hopkins (Voice)) |
| Voices of | Clara Poulsen Alex Brown Zachary Brown |
| Theme music composer | Rachel de Azevedo Coleman |
| Opening theme | Signing Time! Theme |
| Composer(s) | Rachel de Azevedo Coleman Lex de Azevedo |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English ASL (vocabulary only) |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 28-30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | PBS |
| Original run | January 1, 2006 [1] – September 30, 2008 (PBS)[1] |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Baby Signing Time! Practice Time! |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Signing Time! is a television program targeted towards children one through eight that teaches American Sign Language. It is filmed in the United States and was created by Rachel de Azevedo Coleman and Emilie Brown. Coleman also hosts the series. Between the years 2006 and 2008, it was aired by American Public Television in many cities across the US.[2] Signing Time! is produced and distributed by Two Little Hands Productions.[3] Two Little Hands Productions is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Signing Time’s multi-sensory approach encourages learning through three senses — visual, auditory and kinesthetic — and reaches children with diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing.
Throughout the series, Coleman, her daughter Leah, Leah's cousin Alex, and Hopkins, an animated frog, teach ASL vocabulary-building signs. The series teaches signs for common words, questions, phrases, movements, colors, sports, days of the week, everyday objects, and common activities.[4]
Currently, Signing Time interstitial music videos can be seen on Nick Jr.[5][6] As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were allowed to show the series for the next two years.[7]
Contents |
In 1996, Rachel Coleman had a daughter, whom she named Leah. When Leah was 14-months-old, Coleman and her husband, Aaron, discovered that Leah had been deaf since she was born. Afterward, the couple began to teach Leah sign language, first with Signing Exact English (SEE)[8], then with American Sign Language (ASL), so that they could learn to communicate. Rachel noticed that within six months, Leah's sign language vocabulary far surpassed the vocabulary of hearing children her same age.[9] Rachel's sister Emilie Brown and her husband Derek had been teaching Leah's newborn cousin, Alex, how to sign, and he learned it quickly as well.
A few years later, Rachel had a second daughter. Lucy was born 8 weeks premature, with spina bifida and cerebral palsy. Doctors worried that, due to her cerebral palsy, Lucy would never be able to speak or use sign language to communicate with her deaf sister, but after production of the first volume, Lucy began to sign, and later, to speak. Rachel then realized that signing could be beneficial to all children.[10]
Rachel and Emilie decided to create a visual video for hearing children so that ASL could be made accessible to all children, and together created Two Little Hands Productions, their production company. The project has turned into a massive success, spawning a successful television run and much merchandise. A foundation, Signing Time! Foundation, has also been created. It is a foundation for children with and without disabilities whose mission is to enrich the lives of children of all abilities.[11]
Rachel hosts the show herself, with her daughter Leah and nephew Alex also starring to provide support. In My First Signs, it was not originally planned for Rachel to be in the videos, but she was added to demonstrate the signs because Alex and Leah (then 3 and 4, respectively) could not consistently sign clearly enough to teach viewers the signs.[12] In the earlier episodes, Rachel was reluctant to sing and sign at the same time since it causes some problems for those who want true ASL, but customers responded, wanting more songs and wanting to learn signs from them.[12]
The second season introduced a new format that includes new signs and more original music. Each program addresses a single theme, marked by a theme song, which is introduced verse by verse. In addition, new segments “ABC Time,” “Counting Time,” “Game Time,” “Story Time,” and “Hopping/Moving Time” explore the episode theme or other skills in a playful way. These segments employ teaching methods such as mnemonics, songs, stories and games, appealing to diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing.[4]
Baby Signing Time! is a sister series to Signing Time! It started in 2005 and is geared towards children aged 2 and younger; it is similar to the early volumes of Signing Time where the signs are introduced one at a time. It is much more musical than regular Signing Time and teaches basic ASL signs for a baby's needs and environment. Coleman hosts this series as well, but instead of having a real Alex and Leah on the show, Alex, Leah, and Hopkins are featured as animated babies.[13]
The Signing Time Foundation funded the airing of Signing Time on public television stations around the country from January 1, 2006 to September 30, 2008. Signing Time began airing on public television stations nationwide in 2006 and went from being relatively unknown to having over 80% national cumulative carriage. It was the only show on national television teaching children to sign. Public television does not pay for programming, and in order to keep Signing Time on public television, the Signing Time Foundation was expected to produce and deliver 13 episodes annually, which would have totaled an annual cost of approximately 1.5 million dollars, something that Signing Time's small production company, Two Little Hands Productions, could not afford.[14][15] However, Rachel has stated that she would love to be able to put Signing Time back on television.[15]
As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were given the right to air Signing Time! for the next two years.[7]
Rachel is the host of the Signing Time! series. She has spent much of her adult life in the entertainment industry. While performing with her band We the Living, Rachel’s 14-month old daughter Leah, was diagnosed as having a profound hearing impairment. “When I realized my daughter was deaf, I could not find a way to rationalize spending hours working on my music. My priorities changed. I put down my guitar and picked up sign language.” Rachel’s second daughter, Lucy, underwent fetal surgery for spina bifida and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Lucy now communicates with both speech and sign language. After years of musical silence, Rachel has picked up that guitar again, writing and performing all of the songs for Signing Time!. In addition to starring in Signing Time!, Rachel is also a popular singer, performer, and speaker, and has performed for hundreds of thousands of children all across the country.[4]
Leah Coleman is the inspiration behind the creation of Signing Time! Diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 14 months old, she began learning American Sign Language (ASL) as fast as her parents could learn it and teach it to her. Leah could sign full sentences long before her ‘hearing’ peers could even speak, and as a result, her parents say she never threw a tantrum. Leah is now 14 years old and in eighth grade. In fourth grade, she garnered national attention for winning first place in her school spelling bee. Her favorite food is sushi. She loves being in Signing Time! with her cousin Alex, and teaching ASL to other children.[4] Leah received a cochlear implant in January 2004.[16]
Alex Brown appeared in the very first episode of Signing Time! before his third birthday. He learned to sign as a baby so that he could communicate with his deaf cousin, Leah. He is a budding singer, percussionist, and pianist. He is also a parkourist in training.[17] A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Alex has also lived in Virginia and California.[4]
Hopkins was originally developed as a gecko named ‘Twerp’ (a play on the nickname ‘Terp, for interpreter) and was supposed to be Leah’s ‘voice’ and appear as a gift from Grandma and Grandpa. However, since Leah’s speech began to improve, partially due to a cochlear implant,[16] Hopkins is now Alex and Leah's little green animated sidekick who loves to swim, paint, lift large pieces of fruit, and eat unsuspecting flies. He is named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who in 1817 established the first free American school for the deaf and hearing-impaired.[18]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | DVD and/or VHS release dates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| 1 | 13 | January 1, 2006 | N/A | May 2002[19] - March 2006[20] |
| 2 | 13 | N/A | N/A | September 2007[21] - April 2008[22] (last known) |
All numbers are in the order that the volumes were released from the Signing Time![23] official website.
Practice Time is an interactive DVD that is designed to help viewers practice their fingerspelling and number skills.
Other items include printed materials such as board books and flash cards, Signing Time! clothing, and Signing Time! music CDs.
Emmy Award Nomination - Rachel Coleman, host of Signing Time, was nominated for the "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series," for the 35th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmys.[24]
Parents' Choice - The show was nominated for the Parents' Choice Awards.[25]
National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA)[26]
2011
Source:[27]
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