ASL Rose Newsletter
Vol. 1 No. 1
December 21, 2006
Brrr! It’s so chilly and cold outside? How can we get warm quickly?
How about if we do some warm-ups? Take your hands, stretch out a little bit, put them way out in front of you and stretch as far as you can. Ahhh! Doesn’t that feel good?? Now let’s do some ASL warm-ups! Put your hand out, and spread those fingers a bit. Now you have a five. In ASL, that’s a handshape—5! Let’s see what we can do with it. Put both hands on either side of your head. That’s a deer! What else? Oh! I know what! Put your left hand down flat, then your right elbow on top of your left hand, with the 5 handshape, and twist your palm a little. A tree!
Let’s try something else. Make a “C” with both your hands. Open the fingers slightly, and place them on your face—move them down a bit, as if you had a beard. Santa! Now hold that C out in front of you, and twist it back towards you—Christmas! Yes, it’s Christmastime, and that’s true at ASL Rose. It’s also Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the holidays in general! It’s a festive time of year for everyone, and it’s also festive here at ASL Rose. We want to wish you the very best! Now we’d like to tell you a little more---
-------------------
Greetings and welcome to ASL Rose!
This is a newsletter that we will be sending out from time to time, to let you know when our website is updated, and when we have new materials for you to explore, buy, and enjoy! Right now it is indeed the holidays, and we’ve unveiled our holiday page at ASL Rose—just go to http://www.aslrose.com/holiday2006.php!
Yep, it’s Frosty and his friends. But is a holiday greeting all they have to share? No!
First of all, you may be wondering… ASL Rose? What’s that??
ASL Rose is a company founded and owned by Dr. E. Lynn Jacobowitz and Dr. Adonia K. Smith. You can see details about their credentials and education at http://www.aslrose.com/about.php. ASL Rose will create, develop, and offer books and DVDs that combine ASL and Deaf history and culture in one, using a bilingual approach, and aimed especially at children. You can see ASL Rose’s mission statement here: http://www.aslrose.com/mission.php
These materials will benefit children learning ASL, whether in the schools, at summer camps, in ASL classes, or just for fun at home. But shhhh--- Frosty says anyone can enjoy and learn no matter how young or old! ASL students, Interpreter training students, parents of deaf children, children of deaf parents, deaf studies students-- anyone who is interested in ASL and Deaf history and culture!
Ok, great. So now what? Well, we’re not done! Remember Frosty and his friends had something to share? Well, here’s the secret: ASL Rose not only has a home page, a mission statement, and information on its owners, it now has a store! Inside that store is a present from Frosty and his friends at ASL Rose--- to you! Our first DVD/book is ready for you!
Have You Ever Seen? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book is now on sale. Our very first published DVD/book contains stories, facts, and rhymes based on commonly used ASL handshapes. The book itself is 77 colorful pages, with full-page illustrations and glimpses into ASL and Deaf culture. You can see an example here: http://www.aslrose.com/images/27horse2.jpg
The horse is not only a charming fellow with artistic talent: on the opposite page, there is information about Laurent Clerc and De’VIA. But our friend the horse isn’t alone. In addition to his other friends throughout the book, there’s the DVD, where there are also 44 ASL-handshape rhymes, signed in ASL by Deaf and KODA children, with cultural vignettes told by Rosa Lee Gallimore! You can see an example here: http://www.aslrose.com/hyes_video.php At 140 minutes long, the DVD offers English subtitles and audio voiceover as part of your language choices. View your DVD simultaneously in both ASL and English for easy learning, or immerse yourself fully in ASL!
The team that created this exciting DVD and book are all deaf, from authors Jacobowitz and Smith, to Tamara Davidson, who illustrated Have You Ever Seen?, James R. DeBee, who directed the video, and Rosa Lee Gallimore, who signed the cultural vignettes on the DVD. Additionally, Deaf and KODA children from Maryland and Texas participated on the DVD.
You can find information about Have You Ever Seen? and upcoming DVDs/books and materials in our store: http://www.aslrose.com/aslrosestore.php. If you are interested in ordering for your students, ASL Rose accepts purchase orders from schools. Simply contact ASL Rose and provide your tax exempt number, and we’ll process your order!
As you can see, there’s not just one, but five other DVDs/books there as well. This newsletter will keep you up to date on when the next DVDs/books are ready for you, and when we have more news to share! While you’re waiting, we have fun activities for you, and e-cards. Just visit us at www.aslrose.com!
[If you enjoyed this newsletter, and know other people who would like to hear from us, spread the news! Invite your family, co-workers, friends, and neighbors to subscribe to ASL Rose. But if you are no longer interested in hearing from us (and we’ll be sad to see you go!), just send an e-mail to info@aslrose.com, with the word “unsubscribe” and your e-mail address in the subject line of your e-mail.]
