WGVU Grand Rapids Michigan Rocks!
When I went to Grand Rapids Michigan 2 weeks ago I had a terrible head cold and flying was no treat. Now, I completely agree with those babies who scream on airplanes. The fancy part of it was that when I landed, my left ear would not unplug. Try singing with THAT going on, not fun, but I made it through the 3 shows in Grand Rapids.
A little note on Grand Rapids- WGVU is the only station in the country that airs Signing Time daily, M-F! They air it at 3:30pm. How cool is that? We have been on close to 80% of the stations across the U.S. but usually only once or twice a week. It would be so great if the other stations would follow WGVU‘s lead. The programmer there feels there is plenty of content in each show so that repetition is important and necessary. And each programmer has some say over what they show and when.
With the 13 episodes from Series 1 they air them like this:
Week 1: Episodes 1 1 2 3 1
Week 2: Episodes 2 2 3 4 2
Week 3: Episodes 3 3 4 5 3 and so on.
The formula obviously works, we had a such a great turn out at each event . The fans were clearly Signing Time TV fans as opposed to Signing Time DVD fans. How do I know? Well for the most part, they didn’t know that Leah was my daughter or that Alex is my nephew. They had no idea that Lucy was mine too. They didn’t know that I write the songs and really sing the songs as well. They didn’t know the story behind Signing Time and how Leah’s language helped her little sister so much. During the “Meet and Greet” people would ask about the colors on my fingers, name signs… all of the things we address in the DVD special features. In that way it was different from the other shows I have done. But I also really experienced that people love Signing Time. If they see it, they love it. In Grand Rapids, a lot of families really get to see it!
P.S. I don’t have any pictures of those events, so if you were there and want me to show yours off, just email me and I’ll add them to my blog!
August 14th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Wow! Wish our PBS would do that here. We have a 7 am time slot on Sunday morning when they do show it. Hope you are finally feeling better; I can’t imagine singing (period) with a plugged ear!
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August 14th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
I take that back!! Signing Time is on here Mon-Fri right now! I just checked it out again and it’s on the Educable channel. They have Signing Time on the regular PBS channel on Sunday morning and then the educable channel Mon-Fri! That’s terrific!
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August 14th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I live near the Grand Rapids area but was not able to make it to the zoo to see you guys. My daughter LOVES Signing Time and is usually pretty disappointed when she naps a little long during the day and misses watching it in the afternoon. She is only 20 months old and asks me if she can watch “Time” (Signing Time). I love that she loves watching your show because she has picked up so many signs and words just by watching it. I’m very thankful that WGVU airs the show every day and am looking forward to the new series! Keep up the amazing work! God Bless.
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August 14th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Where I live they only show Signing Time on Saturday Mornings at 8:30. I wish they would show it more often.
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August 14th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Being in radio I can totally see how that formula would work!!! My kids love the DVD’s but also watch the TV show. I wish they were on every day here in Utah! Maybe they are and I haven’t noticed. Speaking of Utah, our kids are SO excited for the Hogle Zoo event next Monday! I’m taking the day off of work to bring them!
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August 14th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Rachel… you rocked! We were front and center and you delivered a great show! Not only did we get a wonderful performance, but we also got to see the real side of “Rachel the Mom.” When you teared up talking about Lucy, I teared up. When you sang “Show Me a Sign”, I grabbed my youngest daughter (she’s 3 and has a lot of complications from Cystic Fibrosis) and just felt the words… you touched all of us on a very personal level and made everyone there feel very included. Thank you for hanging in there and giving us what we came to see!
I have to tell you what happened in the parking lot afterwards… as we exited the building, I saw a mini-van parked in a handicapped space just to the left of the sidewalk. The side door was open, the mom was standing in front of it, facing her child inside the van and I caught a glimpse of a feeding pump bag hanging from the side ceiling handle. My eyes riveted to the bag, I started to realize that the mom and her friend were getting uncomfortable with my stares. I realized my faux-pas and headed over there… “Is that the Infinity pump? I’ve been wanting one of those, but wanted to see it in person first!” You could see the tension melt almost immediately and the irony of the situation made it so poignant! Here I am coveting her feeding pump from afar, and she’s thinking I’m staring because of her child.
We all have a story, and whether those tales of woe be visible or not, it all comes down to the love we have for our children. You, Rachel, possess something that shows how much you care not only for your own children, but our children as well. Thank you for sharing your life and your talent to make all of us just a little bit better!!!
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August 15th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Five days a week! Oh the jealousy . . . we’re still trying to convince WQED to show Signing Time one day a week. I always find it disappointing that people in Pittsburgh have to either buy the DVDs or check them out at the library.
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September 7th, 2007 at 11:00 am
I can’t believe you wore that sweater the whole time! You should get a T-shirt made to be similar. It was a pleasure to meet you and get your picture with my kids. Too bad I lost the digital camera that captured the event! We still have your signed photo and bought a couple shirts.
I tried to get your DVD’s at the library and they only had one, volume 3 and you were in a blue shirt, untaped fingers, and the format was a bit different. I’m glad your show is on everyday. We watch it quite often and we need the repetition, so the same show on two days in a row is great for we can see if we really learned it the day before, or the week before.
Keep up the good work!
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