Signs of the Month: May

Since we have Memorial Day right around the corner I thought we'd focus on the Armed Services and Memorial Day celebrations for our signs this month; the * indicates words recommended for preschool age kids:

Memorial Day - (literal translation Remember Day) The sign for 'remember' - 2 'a' hands. Dominant hand thumb touches the forehead then arches forward and down to touch the thumb of the non-dominant hand. The sign for 'day' - your non-dominant hand acts as the horizon, the other hand points the forefinger to the ceiling, elbow at the non-dominant hand. Lower forearm to lay over non-dominant, like the sun setting over the horizon.

*Parade - both hands show 4 fingers pointing down, place hands one inf front of the other and move them forward like lots of people marching.

*Picnic - hands in 'b's placing one on top of the other and bring to your mouth - this simulates eating a sandwich

*Party - same as Play - using 2 'y' hands twist the wrists in and out a couple of times.

*Flag- forefinger of your non-dominant hands represents the flag pole, dominant hand in a 'b' formation waves at the top of the 'pole'

*Fireworks - similar to the sign for 'star' forefingers point to the sky, pop them up one at a time over and over like fireworks going off.

Army - Think of "carrying your rifle over your shoulder."  The right and left "A" hands are held near the chest-(right hand) and left side of the abdomen-(left hand).  The hands are about two inches out from the body at the beginning of the sign.  Then you simultaneously thump both hands on your body.  Use a double motion (in-out-in).

Note: The sign "army" also means "military."

Soldier - literally translates to 'army person' do the sign for 'army' then both hands trace straight down the torso indicating  a person's body.

Service - both hands lay with palms up. Shift one hand forward, then the other - like serving plates.

Strength - same sign for strong, open hands start in front of the chest and pull away from the body closing into fists.

Honor- This sign uses "H" hand-shapes.  The hands move forward and up . This sign is a partial sign. You have to tell the person who or what you are honoring. If you are honoring a deity then you would move the sign up to the right. If you are honoring a veteran then you would do the honor sign followed immediately by the sign for veterans sign. If a person then you would follow the sign by pointing to the person or signing their name.

Tears (cry) - The sign for "cry" is made by placing one or both index fingers under your eyes.  Bring your fingers down over your cheeks a few times.

Proud - using an 'a' hand, touch the thumb to your lower chest and drag it up to the upper chest - like indicating the proud posture. Again like Honor, indicate who you are proud of directly after the sign.

Vietnam - 'V' hand next to the eye twists a little in, over and over. (follow by the letters V-E-T for Vietnam veteran)

various others:

Firefighter - 'b' hand touches the forehead at the nub of the thumb (fingers point to the ceiling)

Police officer- the 'c' hand touches over the heart - this is the same sign as 'concerned' as the original police force were concerned citizens.

 For visuals check out - http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/