*expired* Super Summer {ASL Flash Cards} Giveaway

This contest is over, but you can see my current contests by clicking: here.

Open the window to your child’s mind by incorporating American Sign Language (ASL) into your daily routines. Sprouting New Beginnings is giving away a beginning series set of ASL flash cards to one lucky winner!



I was given a set 28 beginning signs to help Jason and I communicate better. I taught Ryan and Kaylin basic signs when they were babies, but I'm excited to have so many additional words to teach Jason. He already does the sign for "all done" and we're working on "eat" and "more."

The cards are made of thick plastic that are very sturdy and the pictures are easy to understand. The front of each card displays a colorful illustration while the reverse side teaches you how to make its associated sign.

The 28 cards list each word or phrase in both English and Spanish and include: apple, baby, banana, bath, book, cheese, cracker, daddy, down, drink, eat, finished, flower, help, juice, milk, more, mommy, play, please, stop, thank you, tree, up, water, where, which, and you.

Sprouting New Beginnings is an early education consulting company that focuses on fun and interactive ways to support the development of healthy minds and healthy children through American Sign Language, play, and music to promote school readiness.

All children learn to gesture, it is natural. However, now there is a way to make that gesturing meaningful…learn American Sign Language. Sprouting New Beginnings supports the use of American Sign Language because it is a powerful strategy that facilitates learning in early education by developing early literacy skills, listening skills, and brain development. Children who sign typically have larger vocabularies, are less frustrated, and are growing their love and enjoyment of learning.

ASL is not just a language boost for our children, it is also a brain boost. A child that has the opportunity to learn ASL benefits by increased brain development. Research has vastly expanded our knowledge of early brain development. We now understand how early experiences are influential to the wiring of the brain. Early childhood (birth to age 8) is a crucial time for brain development, in the first three years of life 90% of the brain is developed. American Sign Language supports early brain development in the areas of: communication, attention, bonding, and visual.

Children who sign tend to have higher self-esteems, stronger problem solving skills, stronger leaders and are more empathetic and accept diversity. American Sign Language has also been known to decrease behavior challenges and minimize those terrible two’s. What a wonderful gift to give to a child.American Sign Language is not a difficult language to learn. It is important to understand that for the purpose of supporting hearing children’s language development, pre-literacy skills, and cognitive development you are only using the vocabulary from ASL, you are not teaching them the whole language.

As parent you will highlight the word you want your child to know. Such as milk, every time you say the word milk you will also sign it. This interaction should take place with adults as well as children, that way the use of ASL will seem natural to children learning it.

For my Phoenix-area readers: Sprouting New Beginnings provides classes to help you learn how to incorporate ASL into your daily routines. In our Circle of Friends class you will learn strategies that help you:
· Find Out What Your Child Wants
· Reduce Frustration and Find the Peace!
· Create a Stronger Relationship with Your Child
· Develop Your Child’s Language
· Enhance Your Child’s Experiences with the World
· Bond with Other Signing Families

The winner of this contest will receive the ASL Flash Cards Quick Pack, Beginner Series by Sign2Me.

There are multiple ways to enter to win. Each entry needs to have your first name, city and state and email address (typed as "yourname(at)yahoo(dot)com" to avoid spam):

1. Simply leave a comment on this post with your first name, city and state and email address.

2. Subscribe to Intentionally Katie and leave a separate comment once you're a follower.

3. Visit the Sprouting New Beginnings website and sign up to receive their newsletter. (on their homepage)

4. Become a fan of Sprouting New Beginnings on Facebook: here.

5. Link back to this contest post either on your own blog, on Facebook or on Twitter. Come back and leave a separate comment for each link; this can be an additional three entries.

*The winner will be announced on Friday, August 6th and has 48 hours to contact me to claim their prize. If I don't hear from the winner by Sunday, another entry will be randomly selected.