Happy not-very-new-anymore year!

I am doing a TERRIBLE job of posting posts, here or Patreon or anywhere else, but it's because I have been doing a reasonably good job of juggling many other tasks and (so far) keeping all the balls in the air.

1. Montana Family ASL launched, albeit in a rough-and-ready, work-in-progress sort of way. The pilot session is going well! I expect an expanded, improved, polished-up version to open in April. (If you're in Montana and have a deaf/hh/nonverbal child, you can sign up now. I'll use your waitlist information for scheduling.)

2. The Montana Lead-K bill* is due for a first committee hearing next week. I think we have a strong roster of proponents ready to testify, with a deep bench and all of the relevant facts on our side. Fingers crossed!

*(It's not a really real, full, LEAD-K bill. It's a tiny incremental beginning, which is the only thing realistically feasible given the current state of Montana's legislature and early intervention setup. But it's a start!)

3. My ASL Kindergarten project-slash-curriculum is growing, and has been collecting an increasingly fancy & well-known set of admirers. Shout-out from Hands Land! Woo hoo!

4. Kids and families I am working with individually are making lots of progress and telling me lots of compliments. Including:

“My kids are thrilled to spend time with Cecily as she empowers them  with the building blocks of American Sign Language. I love to see them having so much fun playing with handshapes while they are developing a deeper grasp of their language”

“As a social entrepreneur, I am delighted by Cecily’s work to increase access and empowerment through American Sign Language. As a parent, I am over-joyed to have her knowledge imparted to my children. Our community is greatly enriched by her efforts!"

“What a fun and wonderful time of language learning for my deaf kids! We love our sessions with Cecily!”

"Ahoy, Captain Marvel! We are so grateful for the blessing of knowing you, the generosity of your heart as you share your passion with us, and the possibilities that are ahead of us."

"I talked to [other mom] yesterday and we don't know what we would do if you are not here for advice. Thank you!"

So that's very nice for me. (I fished very directly for these compliments by saying to people "hey, please compliment me", but I think they are still sincere.)

 

5. As a result of the Holiday Season, I am now in possession of an iPad, an Apple Pencil, and the Procreate app. I spend all of my spare time fiddling with brushes and learning how to export movies, instead of writing blog posts.

 

Some of us are very interested in knights and dragons, and specifically in Tomie dePaola's The Knight and the Dragon. I am also very interested in all of these things, particularly in the librarian princess who saves those other poor saps from lives of incompetent combat while providing delicious barbecue meals for the entire realm.

Some of us are very interested in ASL handshapes, and the ways they behave in signs.

(This one is the least complicated but by far the most actually useful thing I've made so far.)

Ta da!