Learning ASL: Beginners Part 1 Ages 5 To 8

Hello! My name is Emily Stewart. I am from West Virginia in the United States. I have been an online teacher for 8 years. I teach students ages 5 to 18 in an online platform. I absolutely love teaching online! I love to work with children and have fun in the classroom! We will play games and I will use  examples to help students learn. I believe that a happy class full of laughter is one of the best ways to help a child learn. I love American Sign Language and have created classes centered around learning the basics. I am firm believer in learning vocabulary first. Once we have learned a significant amount of vocabulary, we will move on to ASL Grammar. Review and repetition are key to sign language and we will use a lot of it. I have been learning Sign Language since the age of 9. I have been signing for 22 years and have taken many classes to continue my learning in this field.  I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concord University in West Virginia. My husband and I have been married for 8 years! We have a beautiful 7 year old daughter who loves to learn and play and also loves to learn ASL! We just had a baby girl who loves to keep us on our toes. I am a work at home mom and my husband is a district supervisor for a restaurant chain. We enjoy hiking, playing at the park, and reading books in our free time together! I hope to see you in one of my classes soon! 
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**I am only able to teach on Sundays now. Please reach out if you do not see a class you want to take available and we will see if we can work out a time. **

*** Classes are subject to change. Classes may change due to illness, emergency, or last minute school functions for my daughter. All classes will be made up with an extra date or week. If these dates do not work for you, please reach out and we will work something out to replace the missed class. 

*** Classes are to be taken in ORDER. If you have previous sign language experience, feel free to message me to see where your learner will fit in the best. Otherwise, all classes are to be taken in order from Beginners part 1 to part 4, then Intermediate part 1 to part 4, and Advanced. Ages 5 to 8 are REQUIRED to take classes in order. Even if there is prior experience. (Unless you message me and talk to me about it).Classes that are labeled 13 to 18 move at a much FASTER pace than the younger classes. These are to be taken in order as well. 

Class Policies: 

1) I always try to keep classes the amount of time that is scheduled. Sometimes class will go over or under depending how many students are enrolled and how talkative each learner is. We will always do our best to stay on time and on task. 

2) If the minimum amount of learners is not reached prior to class, I will contact the parent and transfer the student to a class at a later date or time or give a refund for the class for a one time class. I will wait 3 minutes before I start teaching to let each learner enter the classroom. After 3 minutes I will begin teaching. Any student that is late will be let into the class. Any learners who are absent will have to watch the video recording of the class in order to make up the class. 

3) If there are no learners in the classroom, I will wait 10 minutes before I exit the classroom. 

4) All classroom recordings are posted automatically after they are available. 

5) Classroom expectations: 
-Each learner must be enrolled in the classroom. If siblings want to take the same class, they will both need to be enrolled in the classroom. If there are extra students who are not signed up for the class in the view of the camera, they will be asked to step away. Parents and siblings are always welcome to watch class but if siblings will be participating they will need to be enrolled. Outschool policy states, no adults are allowed to take classes. 
 
-Each learner is expected to be as focused as they can for their age. There should be no cell phones in class. Younger students may bring a toy for comfort. Each learner is expected to participate to the best of their ability. Some leaners will be shy and I will help them be as comfortable as I can. 

-Learners will be muted at times and should remain muted until the teacher says it is ok. Sometimes it is hard to hear individuals speaking, so we need to mute everyone. 

-If a learner is disruptive, I will give 3 warnings before moving them to the waiting room. I will keep them in the waiting room for a certain period of time so that they have time to settle down. They will be readmitted after some time and will have another chance to participate. Any extreme behavior will keep the learner out of the classroom for the rest of the class. If a learner refuses to turn on their camera, they will be moved to the waiting room. American Sign Language classes require that I see the students at all times in order to help them learn.  Any behavior issues will be brought to the parent's attention after class is over.