Black Bear Healing Home Signing for Babies
Prenatal ASL and Sign Language for Babies in Carleton Place, Ontario
We will be having an ASL social on May 26 and we would love it if you could come! It will be from 6:30pm-8pm at Foundry Collective & Coffee Bar at 122 Bridge Street in Carleton Place.
Arrive when you can, and leave when you have to. These will be fun, informal evenings where we can chat in ASL. Everyone is welcome – all ages and all abilities. Just come ready to sign. Free on-street parking is available. Let’s hope the weather agrees and we can sit out on the patio!
Join us for a fun introduction to sign language for your baby or toddler, and meet other local families learning ASL. Lisa (hearing) and Simone (Deaf) will lead a family-friendly circle time with signing, stories, ASL chants, and songs. Recommended age is 0 to 4 years.
When: Sunday May 7, 2023 from 10am to 11am
Where: Nepean Centrepointe (Ottawa Public Library) Room B
Cost: $15 per family
Space is limited and registration is required. To register, you can email Lisa at lisa@blackbearhealinghome.com or phone/text her at 613-558-3199. Please let us know how many people from your family would like to attend, their names, and the ages of the children.
A special thank you goes out to parent Julia Johnson for taking the lead in organizing this event for our community.
Registration is now open for the next Sign Language for Babies group class. This class is for ages 0-2 years, and will run on Monday mornings from 10:30am-11:30am at the Carleton Place Public Library. Cost is $120 per family.
Topics include everyday routines, fingerspelling, emotions, playtime, fingerplays, animals, bathroom routines, counting, the great outdoors, stop and go games, manners, and family. We will also cover what is ASL, the controversies around signing with babies, sign approximations, receptive vs expressive language, 4 ways of demonstrating a sign, semantics, ages and stages of signing, language deprivation, and benefits of signing with children.
The sixth session will be a structured playgroup rather than a structured class. We will begin with a circle time, followed by an opportunity for caregivers and babies to socialize, play, and sign together. Toys and books will be provided, and there will be lots of time for questions.
This course features 12 songs and 5 storybooks, and a take home resource is handed out in each class. This includes a basic routines poster, an alphabet poster, a finger puppet, the 100 Signs for Parents booklet from DawnSignPress, and a review poster for everyday signs.
Signing with your baby is a gift to them and a gift to you. Register your little one today and experience the gifts of connection and communication. Contact us at lisa@blackbearhealinghome.com or 613-558-3199 (phone or text) to reserve your spot.
We will be having ASL socials on March 31 & April 28 and we would love it if you could come! They will be from 7pm-9pm at the Tim Hortons at 144 Franktown Road in Carleton Place.
Arrive when you can, and leave when you have to. These will be fun, informal evenings where we can chat in ASL. Everyone is welcome – all ages and all abilities. Just come ready to sign!
Come on out and learn sign language! This intro class is for anyone who prefers an inclusive and welcoming space – you don’t have to be LGBTQ+ to attend. Join 2-Spirit Deaf Instructor Sarina Elliott to learn American Sign Language and Deaf culture. This immersion class will be taught entirely in ASL, so be prepared to turn your voice off.
This small-group class uses games and fun activities to get you signing. One of the first things you’ll learn is how to introduce yourself with your name and pronouns in ASL, and how to ask others for their name and pronouns. Topics include fingerspelling, family signs, signs related to gender and sexual orientation, basic grammar, and lots more. All of the topics will be explored through a Deaf Queer perspective, and you will come away with some basic signing skills.
This class is for teens and adults, and will run on Monday evenings from 7pm-8pm on March 20, March 27, and April 3 at the Carleton Place Public Library. Cost is $75 a person. Contact us at lisa@blackbearhealinghome.com or 613-558-3199 (phone or text) to reserve your spot.
Registration is now open for the next Sign Language for Babies group class. This class is for ages 0-2 years, and will run on Friday mornings from 10:30am-11:30am at the Carleton Place Public Library. Cost is $120 per family.
Topics include everyday routines, fingerspelling, emotions, playtime, fingerplays, animals, bathroom routines, counting, the great outdoors, stop and go games, manners, and family. We will also cover what is ASL, the controversies around signing with babies, sign approximations, receptive vs expressive language, 4 ways of demonstrating a sign, semantics, ages and stages of signing, language deprivation, and benefits of signing with children.
The sixth session will be a structured playgroup rather than a structured class. We will begin with a circle time, followed by an opportunity for caregivers and babies to socialize, play, and sign together. Toys and books will be provided, and there will be lots of time for questions.
This course features 12 songs and 5 storybooks, and a take home resource is handed out in each class. This includes a basic routines poster, an alphabet poster, a finger puppet, the 100 Signs for Parents booklet from DawnSignPress, and a review poster for everyday signs.
Signing with your baby is a gift to them and a gift to you. Register your little one today and experience the gifts of connection and communication. Contact us at lisa@blackbearhealinghome.com or 613-558-3199 (phone or text) to reserve your spot.
We will be having an ASL social on February 24, 2023 and we would love it if you could come! It will be from 7pm-9pm at the Tim Hortons at 144 Franktown Road in Carleton Place.
Arrive when you can, and leave when you have to. This will be a fun, informal evening where we can chat in ASL. Everyone is welcome – all ages and all abilities. Just come ready to sign!
Black Bear Healing Home is pleased to announce that we are hiring an independent contractor to work as our Deaf Storyteller in Ottawa. Please see below for more info.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please contact us. To apply you can email Lisa a video introducing yourself. We welcome all applicants. Priority will be given to 2SLGBTQ+ people and/or BIPOC people. If you would like to be considered under our hiring priorities policy, please self-identify in your application.
UPDATE: This position has been filled.
Earlier this spring, Lisa had the pleasure of running a sign language for babies course for the Carleton Place Public Library. For 5 weeks, she met with a group of parents and their babies on Zoom for 45 minutes. Using books, games, and songs, Lisa taught the group how to get started using ASL with their children.
Heidi Sinnett, the Children’s Librarian, had this to say:
Each session was creative, easy to understand, and allowed everyone time to master the skills they felt would be most useful to their home environment.
To read all of Heidi’s kind words, click through to What Our Clients Say. Working with the library’s families was so much fun!
If you would like Lisa to run a program for your library or community organization, please contact us! Classes can be done live online, or in person. For questions or to schedule a session, please email Lisa@BlackBearHealingHome.com or call or text 613-558-3199.
This class is now being taught quarterly.
To register for the next class, head on over to the Birthsmarter website.
Join Lisa and Simone Edwards-Forde on January 16th for this one-hour interactive class on using ASL to boost communication in the first two years of life.
Black Bear Healing Home Signing for Babies