Signing Time! is an American television program targeted towards children aged one through eight that teaches American Sign Language. It is filmed in the United States and was created by sisters Emilie Brown and Rachel Coleman, the latter of whom hosts the series. Between 2006 and 2016, it was syndicated by American Public Television to public television stations across the US. Signing Time! is produced and distributed by Two Little Hands Productions, which is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Signing Time!'s multi-sensory approach encourages learning through three senses — visual, auditory and kinesthetic — and reaches children with diverse learning styles and abilities by encouraging interaction through signing, singing, speaking and dancing. The series teaches signs for common words, questions, phrases, movements, colors, sports, days of the week, everyday objects, and common activities. From 2009 to 2012, Signing Time! interstitial music videos aired on the Nick Jr. channel. As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were allowed to show the series for the next two years.

History and conception

In 1996, Rachel Coleman had a child, Liam, who was discovered at 14 months old to have been deaf since birth. Subsequently, they learned sign language, first with Signing Exact English (SEE), then with American Sign Language (ASL), so that they could learn to communicate. Coleman noticed that within six months, Liam's sign language vocabulary surpassed the vocabulary of hearing children their same age. Coleman and her sister Emilie created a visual video for hearing children's learn ASL, and started Two Little Hands Productions, their production company. A foundation, Signing Time Foundation, also exists to teach ASL.

Format

Signing Time!

Coleman hosts the show, with her child Liam and nephew Alex also starring to provide support. In My First Signs, it was not originally planned for her to be in the videos, but she was added to demonstrate the signs because Alex and Liam could not consistently sign clearly enough to teach viewers the signs. The second season introduced a new format that includes new signs and more original music. Each program addresses a single theme, marked by a theme song, which is introduced verse by verse. In addition, new segments “ABC Time,” “Counting Time,” “Game Time,” “Story Time,” and “Hopping/Moving Time” explore the episode theme or other skills in a playful way. ''Signing Time! Sentences'' is a three episode mini-series released in 2015 and 2016 geared toward older children and teens. In it Alex and Liam, both now in their late teens, return with Rachel to teach viewers the basics of American Sign Language grammar.

Baby Signing Time!

Baby Signing Time! is a sister series to Signing Time! It started in 2005 and is geared towards children aged 2 and younger; it is similar to the early volumes of Signing Time where the signs are introduced one at a time. It is much more musical than regular Signing Time and teaches basic ASL signs for a baby's needs and environment. Coleman hosts this series as well, though it features Alex and Liam as animated babies rather than their live-action counterparts.

Signing Time on public television

The Signing Time Foundation funded the airing of Signing Time on public television stations around the country from 2006 to 2008. Signing Time began airing on public television stations nationwide in 2006 and went from being relatively unknown to having over 80% national cumulative carriage. It was the only show on national television teaching children to sign. Public television does not pay for programming, and in order to keep Signing Time on public television, the Signing Time Foundation was expected to produce and deliver 13 episodes annually, which would have totaled an annual cost of approximately 1.5 million dollarsUS, something that Signing Time's production company could not afford. As of October 4, 2010, public television stations were given the right to air Signing Time! for the next two years.

Cast

Media

Television

Home media

Other items include printed materials such as board books and flash cards, Signing Time! clothing, and Signing Time! music CDs.

Awards and nominations