The song of the month for primary is "I Am a Child of God." Since my primary kids (and hopefully most other primary kids) know this song very well, I've decided to teach them first verse with sign language.
I don't know sign language! So I used the church's resources to find a video and learn it.
If you click this link, you'll find the page for the song. On the upper right hand corner, there are files available for free download. I downloaded the ASL video.
It's kind of hard! It went a bit fast for me, so I had to pause frequently. I sketched [ugly!] doodles of each motion for myself, and then after about every three or four moves, I would try going through them myself at speed. I'll share my doodles, but I doubt they'll be helpful! They're so ugly, hahaha! But since I drew them, they'll help me when I teach the primary tomorrow.
Right click, select "save image as" and choose the file location.
I've left out a few of the "lesser" words like to, the, etc.
And I think that when I teach the kids, I might end up leaving out even a few more signs just to keep it simple for them (although with repetition, they could pick it all up eventually).
After some searching, I finally found a simply ASL dictionary site. This site is very useful, I think. I just wish the video were larger (it's ridiculously little; but since there are SO many on the site, it must help with loading). I was looking for one with illustrations, but I think those are reserved for books-- maybe because it's so much work to illustrate signs clearly that they don't want to dish it out for free? If that's the case, I understand!
UPDATE: I learned there is a big difference between ASL (American Sign Language) and SEE (Sign Exact English), and I also learned that there exist strong feelings about which is better. The Church has opted to use SEE in their sign language videos (mislabeled as ASL, mistakenly) to better communicate the messages of the songs. If I had realized there was any opinion on any of it, I would have probably found someone to help me learn the "true" ASL version...or probably not?
In any case, my JR primary picked it up fairly well, and my SR primary learned it so quickly that we had 10 minutes extra in singing time for other songs.
I enjoy both kinds of sign language. I think it's a beautiful thing. I love the simplicity of ASL and how it can bridge a gap between mother and baby. I also love the precision and language of SEE, the way it is very complete as a language. We felt the Spirit as we worked on this song.
