Support Down Syndrome Research and Get Great Educational Products at the Same Time!

Down Syndrome awareness month

10/9/2014

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October is also Down syndrome awareness month. As a mother of a child with Down syndrome and a Barefoot Books Ambassador and Signing Time Instructor, this topic is near and dear to my heart.  Signing Time and Barefoot Books have played a huge roll in Ben's life.  Signing Time helped teach him to read before he turned three and Barefoot Books help keep him interested in reading.    To help give back, during the entire month of October 2014, I will donated a portion of my online and in person sales from ABC Barefoot Kids  and ABC Signing Kids to the LuMind Foundation for Down Syndrome Cognition Research (formerly DSRTF).

So why Down Syndrome research? In August 2014, our local Down syndrome support group, welcomed a special guest at our parent's night out event.    William C. Mobley is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurosciences at UCSD. He also serves as Executive Director of UCSD's Down Syndrome Center for Research and Treatment. and the Florence Riford Chair of Alzheimer Disease Research.   At this event Dr. Mobley shared with us some news of his fascinating research and let us know just how close we are to having a drug available to help prevent Alzheimer's not only in the Down syndrome population, but in the general population as well.  It helped me to realize just how much research is going on that will benefit our kids, and how much funding is needed to help keep this research on track. 
I chose the Lumind foundation because it supports lots of different research opportunities to benefit the Down syndrome community. 
The LuMind Foundation founders are committed to opening doors for people with Down syndrome. They established the LuMind Foundation in 2004 to identify and fund the most promising lines of cognitive development research.
So if you would like to join me in supporting Down syndrome research and could use some award winning children's books or Sign Language DVD's, Books, or Flashcards  to help fuel you child's passion for reading or to help them communicate before they are ready to speak, please use one of the following links to start shopping now:

ABC Signing Kids

ABC Barefoot Kids

GIVEAWAY!

I have enjoyed the last 6 months of being a Barefoot Books Ambassador and am happy to help them celebrate their 20th Anniversary this month.  They are having a sale on the top 20 best selling books from the past 20 years.  Click here to go to my website and learn more about Barefoot Books 

As part of the celebration, I will be giving away one of the top 20 books pictured above and a Signing Time Video   (choose from Story Time, Practice Time 123, Practice Time ABC or Sing and Sign). Why give a way a Signing Time DVD along with a Barefoot Book to celebrate this Barefoot Book milestone?  Signing time and Barefoot Books are awesome together.  There are so many great Barefoot Books that have similar themes to Signing Time videos.  Reading and signing along with these books is a great way to incorporate sign into your daily routine.

Register using the Rafflecopter below.  Feel free to share it with anyone who might be interested!  Good Luck!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get a Free Barefoot Book!

Have you ever heard of Barefoot Books?  Less than 6 months ago, I had not, but now I am totally in love with the amazing illustrations and global messages of these beautiful books.  These books are great for visual learners like Ben.  He loves reading and singing and signing along with these books.
If you are familiar with Barefoot Books or even if you are not, you can earn a free $15 web voucher,    just for taking this quick survey.  If you have never seen them before, please take a quick look around the new website first to get an idea about what living Barefoot is all about, then come back and take the survey to earn your free voucher.  It is quick and easy.

Ben's Brigade Fundraiser and Open House

This year we are starting the fundraising  for the 2013 Step Up for Down Syndrome walk a bit earlier, by hosting a couple of smaller fundraisers.  

This fundraiser will feature Barefoot Books, Signing Time and a variety of Crafts. 

Barefoot Books is a collection of high quality children's books that feature amazing artwork and culturally diverse and earth friendly messages.  This book line is new to our area, so if you have not ever heard of Barefoot Books, you should check them out.  Even if you can not attend the event you can still participate in this fundraiser on-line.  If you are local to Southeast Nebraska browse the titles here and send an email to abcbarefootkids@gmail.com with a list of books you would like to order.  If you are not local, you can order on-line to have the books shipped directly to you for a small fee.  

Signing Time is a series of products that help teach ASL Sign Language vocabulary to children.  Babies as young as 6 months can communication via sign and they love being able to share their feelings! Older children enjoy moving while they learn, which increases retention and can even help boost IQ. Ben has used sign to communication since he we 18 months old, and we found out that he was learning to read from the Signing Time videos that he was watching.  Because of Ben's success I became a certified Advanced Sign Language Instructor, an offer teach classes to families with young children, do story times at the local library and do workshops for parents and teachers.  Signing Time products include videos, flashcards and books.  Now until March 31, 2013, sign up for their Sign an Learn Club where for as little as $9.99 a month plus shipping, you can get a video sent directly to your home each month.  Or you can choose from entire sets of Signing Time products at wholesale prices.  This is a limit time option.  If you have ever considered starting a Signing Time program at home you should really look into the Sign to Learn Program while it is available.  Click here for details.

There will also be crafts like genuine stone necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Crocheted fashion scarves, dish cloths, blankets. girls tutu's, barrettes, and hair bands, Down Syndrome awareness jewelry, and calendars, hand made cards and much more.  

Please join us if you can, and  if you are not local, please click on the links and consider supporting Ben's Brigade on-line.

Thanks!