Well, it's a lot easier to learn sign-language than a foreign language...why? Well we already speak english, and for the most part signs are somehow related to the word they signigfy. For instance, the sign for morning, the horizontal arm represents the surface of the earth while the vertical arm and curved hand represent the sun rising over he horizon.
Sign language is actually easier for children to learn than vocal languages. They learn fine motor skills relatively early, as they are necessary for eating and exploring the world around them. Therefore with even the youngest student you can incorporate signs.
There is a major decision you need to make when considering teaching your children sign language. There are 2 major sign language, er, languages for English. A.S.L. or S.E.E.
A.S.L. stands for American Sign Language and was invented by ASL originated in the US in the late 1700's Over the next two centuries it was transformed into a true language that has been taught to many deaf people. Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet adapted approximately 60% of Abbe de l'Epee's French Sign Language (FSL) to conform to American customs and manners and incorporated the basic ASL already in use in 1817. Clerc and Gallaudet also opened the American Asylum, the first school for the deaf in North America based on the goal of teaching ASL. Over the centuries the topic of teaching ASL has been quite controversial, with some believing that it should not be taught to deaf children. For example, influential people such as Alexander Graham Bell stressed the importance of oral communication in children who are deaf. Others, however, such as E.M. Gallaudet (nephew of Tomas Gallaudet) were strong proponents of the continued teaching of ASL. From this support of ASL, a deaf community and culture evolved across North America where approximately 2 million members of the deaf community share in the use of this language.
The down side of ASL: Like all other languages, ASL uses arbitrary symbols as its "words." Word order (syntax) of ASL varies according to emphasis, giving the user many expressive possibilities. Information about nouns, subjects or objects, is incorporated into directional verbs by the use of classifiers, and facial/bodily expressions are used as grammatical markers. The syntax of ASL is more closely related to the Navajo language than to the syntax of English. The small meaning units of ASL (its morphology), such as past tense or plural markers, are different from other languages. ASL does not provide tense marking for each verb in a sentence; rather the tense is marked at the beginning of the conversation and requires no further marking. Therefore if you were to say exactly what one was signing it would sound rather strange. In the song Twinkle, Twinkle there is the line 'Twinkle, Twinkle, little star; How I wonder what you are." In ASL one would sign, "shine star small, what you" so if trying to incorporate actual popular sign language into your home schooling this could be a problem. It would be like teaching slang because it is heard more often. On the other hand your child would be able to communicate with more hearing impaired people with this style.
S.E.E. stands for Signing Exact English (or is commonly referred to as Pidgen Sign Language P.E. or just S.E.) S.E. first appeared in 1972 as parents became frustrated that their children were not learning proper grammar and they worried their children wouldn't be able to find good jobs. So where ASL is actually considered a foreign language since it has idioms and wordage that don't appear in the English language, SEE is exactly the same as the conversation heard in any English speaking nation. Therefore it is not seen as an actual language all it's own. It is viewed by sign linguistics experts as a way to "bridge" the gap between native ASL speakers and native English speakers. Native speakers can be either deaf or hearing. It contains a mix of ASL rules and English grammar. The signs used in PSE come from ASL, but they are not used in an ASL-ish way, but rather in a more normal English pattern. I still consider it a foreign language due to one aspect. Even those hearing impaired that are taught SE as opposed to ASL will still not sign everything as it is spoken. For instance, even they will save time by not signing 'ed', 'es' or 'ing'. For instance they would still not sign "I cleaned my room" they would save the finger spelling by signing "I finish clean my room". As a hearing person who is fluent in sign language, I started with learning SE as it's easier for those who think in exact English (I can sign each of the words as I think them or hear them), then when I was comfortable signing this way I moved onto learning ASL as it was really just a matter of learning their rules (of what words to skip and rearrange). It was a lot less confusing for me.
It is a debate to this day what is more often taught to hearing impaired students. S.E. will say that by 1988 they were taught in more school than ASL, and yet almost all interpreters must be fluent in ASL as that's what is still used in the business world (you can look into RID the registry for interpreters of the deaf for more info). So it's up to you to decide what you want your child to learn.
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm This is like a huge encyclopedia of signs. It comiles both letters and words in alphabetical order and offers a description as well as a picture of the sign.
http://www.signingtime.com/ Signing time is a Sunday morning cartoon in my area, but you can also purchase their DVD's and educational supplies!
http://abcteach.com/directory/basics/sign_language/flashcards/ ABC Teach has great flashcards (free printables) for the letters of the alphabet.
FREE DOWNLOADS:
Billy the Bear Learns How To Sign -
Children's storybook in which Billy Bear learns Finger Spelling. This is a two part book. In the first part Billy teaches you about the Sign Language. The second part, titled Billy Bear Down on the Farm, is a story using sign language to tell you about Billy's Adventures at his Grandparent's farm. (side note, the Billy Bear site has other unrelated great downloads http://www.billybear4kids.com/Software/1Downloads.shtml )
Finger Spelling Screen Saver -
Lets face it, constant immersion is the easiest and fastest way to learn a language. Having this screen saver helps to keep sign language at your children's fingertips (lol) throughout the day.
Stories In Sign (ASL)
This site has 3 or 4 story books read to the student in ASL, so they are familiar with the stories (like Snow White) and they can see the interpreter signing the story.
This free download is for both PC and Mac's. Just download the zipped file and you can write your own Sign Stories!!