Kathy MacMillan

FREE Workshop for Licensed Childcare Providers

Posted on September 12, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Little Hands Signing in the Classroom: Childcare Provider Workshop

When: Saturday, September 17 – 1:00pm – 4:30pm
Where: Leonardtown Library, Leonardtown, MD
Age Group: Adult

Free workshop for licensed childcare providers. Learn how using sign language with children can improve vocabulary & comprehension, defuse difficult behavior, & support a variety of learning styles!

Learn the fascinating reasons behind how sign language supports language development & positive behavior, as well as strategies for incorporating signs into your curriculum and classroom management. You’ll leave with a basic vocabulary of signs and free materials to get you started. Please register. Childcare centers are limited to 3 registrations per center; additional staff will be placed on the wait list until September 10, then added as space allows.

This workshop provides 3 Core of Knowledge hours (1.5 Child Development, 1.5 Curriculum) and is sponsored by the St. Mary’s County Early Childhood Advisory Council. MSDE Office of Childcare approval number CWO-160785; course id SM-07292022-01.

Posted in American Sign Language, Professional Development, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, Upcoming events | Leave a comment

Signing this Saturday at the MD Renaissance Festival

Posted on September 7, 2022 by kathymacmillan

I’ll be signing at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville, MD this Saturday! Hope to see you there!

Saturday, September 10 from 11 AM-5 PM: Maryland Renaissance Festival: Visiting Author at Page After Page Bookstore

Come learn to write your name in the language of the gods and get your signed copy of Sword and Verse and Dagger and Coin! September 10 is one of two American Sign Language Interpretation Days at the festival, so I will also be signing Nita’s First Signs and Nita’s Day. Find me at the author tent across from Page After Page Bookstore (inside the festival village).

NOTE: Be sure to purchase your tickets to the festival online ahead of time at https://rennfest.com/

Posted in American Sign Language, Dagger and Coin, Nita's Day, Nita's First Signs, Sword and Verse, Upcoming events | Leave a comment

Register now for Serving Deaf Patrons in the Library, a 2-part webinar from ALA

Posted on September 2, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Serving Deaf Patrons in the Library
A two-part webinar series taking place on Wednesdays, September 7 and 14, 2022 at 2:30pm Eastern/1:30pm Central/12:30pm Mountain/11:30am Pacific.

Library services are for everyone, and that includes the deaf community. In this workshop, Kathy MacMillan, librarian and certified American Sign Language interpreter, guides you in making your library a more welcoming place for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing. You will gain an understanding of Deaf culture, learn library-related signs, and become prepared to confidently work with interpreters for your programs.

After participating in this workshop, you will have:

An understanding of how to meet your library’s legal obligation to serve deaf and hard of hearing patrons
Strategies for communicating with a deaf or hard of hearing person in the library
Video demonstrations and handouts for library-related signs, accessible for practice after the workshop
Tips for finding, hiring, and working with sign language interpreters
Knowledge of varieties of communication among deaf and hard of hearing people

Kathy MacMillan (she/her) is a writer, nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, librarian, and signing storyteller. She has worked in school and public libraries for over 25 years. She writes fiction and nonfiction for children, teens, and adults, including the Little Hands Signing series from Familius Press and the Storytime Magic series from ALA Editions. She lives in Baltimore, MD. Find her online at KathyMacMillan.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @kathys_quill.

Register now!

Posted in American Sign Language, eCourses and Webinars, Professional Development, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, Upcoming events, webinars | Leave a comment

Add Some Signs to Your Storytime Toolbox!

Posted on August 23, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Little Hands Signing Professional Development Webinar: Autumn Signs

Friday, September 9, 2022
11 AM-12 PM Eastern/10AM-11 AM Central/9 AM-10AM Mountain/8AM-9AM Pacific
1 hour, Online via Zoom

Add some American Sign Language to your storytime toolbox! In this interactive session, we’ll focus on basic ASL vocabulary for autumn sights and activities. Learn how to incorporate ASL into storytime songs, rhymes, and stories in a respectful and effective way. Recording will be available for 30 days.
Individual: $40. Group rates available.

Register now! Save 20% with coupon code AUTUMN.

Little Hands Signing Professional Development Series 1 (6-webinar series)

Thursdays, September 15-October 20, 2022 from 2-3 PM Eastern/1-2 PM Central/12-1 PM Mountain/11AM-12 PM Pacific
6 sessions, online via Zoom

Add some American Sign Language to your storytime toolbox! In this interactive series, we’ll focus on basic ASL vocabulary for summer storytimes. Learn how to incorporate ASL into storytime songs, rhymes, and stories in a respectful and effective way. Includes 30 days of recording access.

Topics:

September 15: First Signs
September 22: Colors Signs
September 29: Family Signs
October 6: Food Signs
October 13: Feelings Signs
October 20: Animal Signs

Individual: $240. Group rates available.

Register now! Save 20% with coupon code AUTUMN.

Posted in American Sign Language, eCourses and Webinars, Professional Development, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, Upcoming events, webinars | Leave a comment

New Sessions of Hands Up!: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff Open for Registration

Posted on August 18, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Hands Up: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff (Beginner)
Thursdays, September 15-October 20, 2022 from 11 AM-12 PM Eastern/ 10 AM-11 AM Central/ 9 AM-10 AM Mountain/8 AM-9 AM Pacific

Online sessions via Zoom (6 weeks, 1 hour per week)

Learn how to improve your service to deaf patrons in this interactive series. We’ll cover basic information about American Sign Language and Deaf Culture, as well as specific vocabulary for the library setting. Each session will build on those before it to reinforce your knowledge and expand your ability to communicate with members of the Deaf community, and you’ll get plenty of interactive signing practice! Recording access available through 30 days after the final session.
Individual: $240. Group rates available.

Hands Up: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff (Intermediate)
Thursdays, November 3- December 15 (No class on November 24) from 11 AM-12 PM Eastern/ 10 AM-11 AM Central/ 9 AM-10 AM Mountain/8 AM-9 AM Pacific

Online sessions via Zoom (6 weeks, 1 hour per week)

Practice your ASL for the library setting in these interactive sessions! This series is appropriate for those who have taken Hands Up!: Live ASL Practice for Library Staff (Beginner), or the ASL for Library Staff eCourses through the American Library Association, or anyone who already knows some library vocabulary in ASL and wishes to polish their skills. Join us to reinforce your library signing skills and increase your confidence in your ability to communicate with members of the Deaf community. Recording access will be available through 30 days after the final session.
Individual: $240. Group rates available.

Posted in American Sign Language, eCourses and Webinars, Professional Development, Resources for Teachers and Librarians, Upcoming events, webinars | Leave a comment

August Programs

Posted on August 4, 2022 by kathymacmillan

A photo of a smiling white woman with glasses appears on the left. She is signing FISH in American Sign Language and is surrounded by cartoon fish. Text appears in black against a blue background: Signs Under the Sea with Kathy MacMillan.

Dive into splashy stories, songs, and fun activities that explore the world of underwater animals through American Sign Language! For all ages. Click on the links below for more details.

Wednesday, August 10 at 11 AM: Claymont Public Library (Claymont, DE)

Wednesday, August 10 at 2 PM: Appoquinimink Community Library (Middletown, DE)

Wednesday, August 10 at 6:30 PM: Route 9 Library & Innovation Center (New Castle, DE)

Friday, August 12 at 10:30 AM: Rockville Memorial Library (Rockville, MD)

Saturday, August 13 at 2 PM: Baltimore County Public Library, Hereford Branch (Hereford, MD)

Tuesday, August 16 at 11 AM: High Point Public Library (High Point, NC)

Saturday, August 20 at 11 AM: Storytime with Kathy MacMillan at Writer’s Block Bookstore in Winter Garden, FL. We’ll sign, sign, play, and read together! For all ages. Writer’s Block – Winter Garden, 32 W. Plant Street, Winter Garden, FL 34787.

Posted in American Sign Language, Nita's Day, Nita's First Signs, The Runaway Shirt, Upcoming events | Leave a comment

Upcoming Webinars for Writers

Posted on July 6, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Professional Communication for Authors
Thursday, July 14, 6:30 PM EDT – 8:30 PM EDT
Hsted by The Writers Center. $50.00.

From query letters to follow up emails, from fielding requests from bloggers to raising concerns with an agent, the life of an author or illustrator is filled with communication – and your ability to express yourself clearly and professionally has a huge impact on your career. In this session, we’ll cover best practices for communicating professionally in a digital world, including writing effective query and cover letters, following up on submissions, dealing with emotionally charged topics, communicating with publishing professionals, bloggers, fans, and peers, and how to stand up for yourself in writing without being a jerk. Register now.

Formatting Your Manuscript for Submission
Thursday, July 21, 6:30 PM EDT – 8:30 PM EDT
Hosted by The Writers Center. $50.00.

Fonts and headers and page breaks, oh my! Join us for a visual guide to all the nitty-gritty details of how to format your manuscript for submission using Microsoft Word. We’ll go over best practices for submissions, as well as how-tos for creating headers and footers, inserting page numbers, setting font and line spacing, and more. Register now.

Posted in On Publishing, On Writing, Professional Development, Upcoming events, webinars | Leave a comment

July Programs for Families

Posted on July 1, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Signs Under the Sea

Dive into splashy stories, songs, and fun activities that explore the world of underwater animals through American Sign Language! For all ages. Click on the links below for more details.

Tuesday, June 21 at 10:30 AM: Baltimore County Public Library, White Marsh Branch (White Marsh, MD)

Thursday, June 23 at 11 AM: Woodlawn Library (Wilmington, DE)

Saturday, July 2 at 10:30 AM: Baltimore County Public Library, Rosedale Branch (Rosedale, MD)

Monday, July 11 at 11 AM: Delmar Public Library (Delmar, DE)

Monday, July 11 at 2 PM: South Coastal Library (Bethany Beach, DE)

Friday, July 15 at 10:30 AM: Baltimore County Public Library, Towson Branch (Towson, MD)

Meet the Author: Kathy MacMillan
Sunday, July 10, 2022 from 6-8 PM
Bethany Beach Books, 99 Garfield Pkw, Bethany Beach DE 19930

Sing, sign, read, and play with Kathy MacMillan, author of THE RUNAWAY SHIRT and other picture book favorites.

Posted in American Sign Language, Little Hands Signing series, Nita's Day, Nita's First Signs, She Spoke, The Runaway Shirt, Upcoming events | Leave a comment

Read This!: DEAF UTOPIA by Nyle DiMarco

Posted on June 28, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Deaf Utopia: A Memoir – And a Love Letter to a Way of Life by Nyle DiMarco with Robert Siebert
Summary: In this moving and engrossing memoir, Nyle shares stories, both heartbreaking and humorous, of what it means to navigate a world built for hearing people. From growing up in a rough-and-tumble childhood in Queens with his big and loving Italian-American family to where he is now, Nyle has always been driven to explore beyond the boundaries given him. A college math major and athlete at Gallaudet—the famed university for the Deaf in Washington, DC—Nyle was drawn as a young man to acting, and dove headfirst into the reality show competitions America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars—ultimately winning both competitions. Deaf Utopia is more than a memoir, it is a cultural anthem—a proud and defiant song of Deaf culture and a love letter to American Sign Language, Nyle’s primary language. Through his stories and those of his Deaf brothers, parents, and grandparents, Nyle opens many windows into the Deaf experience.

DiMarco’s memoir is open and honest, at turns hilarious and poignant. The subtitle “A memoir – and a love letter to a way of life” is right on; DiMarco draws back the curtain on what it was like to grow up in a big Deaf family, from the joys of ASL signs zinging around the dinner table to the tragedies of discrimination from the hearing world and the language deprivation experienced by his father. In describing his experiences on America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars, he offers a clear-eyed understanding of the ways producers shape the narratives in reality TV, while also cogently analyzing the accessibility fails along the way. Through candid anecdotes, he tracks his changing understanding of his own sexuality, finally embracing his queer identity. Throughout the narrative, the book weaves in just enough background information about ASL and Deaf culture and history to help even newcomers to the topic understand how DiMarco’s personal story fits into the bigger picture of the multifaceted Deaf community.

DEAF UTOPIA is out now.

View all my reviews

Posted in American Sign Language, Read This, Recommended Reading | Leave a comment

Upcoming Programs: Signs Under the Sea

Posted on June 20, 2022 by kathymacmillan

Join me at libraries all along the East Coast this summer for

Signs Under the Sea

Dive into splashy stories, songs, and fun activities that explore the world of underwater animals through American Sign Language! For all ages. Click on the links below for more details.

Tuesday, June 21 at 10:30 AM: Baltimore County Public Library, White Marsh Branch (White Marsh, MD)

Thursday, June 23 at 11 AM: Woodlawn Library (Wilmington, DE)

Saturday, July 2 at 10:30 AM: Baltimore County Public Library, Rosedale Branch (Rosedale, MD)

Monday, July 11 at 11 AM: Delmar Public Library (Delmar, DE)

Monday, July 11 at 2 PM: South Coastal Library (Bethany Beach, DE)

Friday, July 15 at 10:30 AM: Baltimore County Public Library, Towson Branch (Towson, MD)

Wednesday, August 10 at 11 AM: Claymont Public Library (Claymont, DE)

Wednesday, August 10 at 2 PM: Appoquinimink Community Library (Middletown, DE)

Wednesday, August 10 at 6:30 PM: Route 9 Library & Innovation Center (New Castle, DE)

Saturday, August 13 at 2 PM: Baltimore County Public Library, Hereford Branch (Hereford, MD)

Tuesday, August 16 at 11 AM: High Point Public Library (High Point, NC)

Posted in American Sign Language, Upcoming events | Leave a comment