Wednesday, September 14, 2005

What a turnout!

So, it turns out that two of the people who signed up for my class thought it was a sign-up for the midweek dinners, but there were still 16 people who came to my class! There were even two people there who hadn't signed up! A few of those who didn't come are people for whom Saturdays would work best, so I wasn't that surprised to see them not there.

Ron took a few pictures of me and my class at the very beginning, so there are a few people who aren't in the pictures, but it was still a good turnout! Here are some of them:





I started out the class with the typical "who are you and why are you here" icebreaker, and then I told the class a little about myself and my experiences with the Deaf and sign language. Then we moved on to the manual alphabet, which they caught onto very easily. I taught them the whole alphabet so they could practice spelling their names and other words.

To end the class, I had them play a game my interpreting instructor suggested: "sign language baseball." In this game, I divided up the class into two teams. They chose people one by one to take turns at the dry-erase board. Whomever wrote down the letter I signed first correctly won a point for their team. Everyone got a chance to play, and they all had a good time! It was great!

Just before I dismissed them, I asked who might be willing to take the class on Saturdays. Most who said they could said that Saturday afternoons would work best for them, so I'm going to ask permission from my pastor to have a class from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. I don't think it's going to be a problem.

The funny thing about tonight's class is that I was teaching a sign language class in a choir room! I think I'm going to move the class to a room where we can all face each other next time.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me. Please continue sending your prayers and support. I plan to continue this class for a long time and begin new ones like it every year.

3 comments:

Devona said...

Erica,
I'm glad there was such a turn out! It sounds like you've found your groove. :)

I can't wait to see how the students are picking it up.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Erica, this is so exciting! I really wish I could come to your class!

Anonymous said...

When you come back to Wichita to visit Dan, I'll give you some lessons to get you started. Sound good?