Have you ever bitten off more than you could chew? Consider this tidbit when starting to sign with your baby.
My mom is deaf and she signed in abundance with me as a baby. I began signing back at 9 months old. My children signed at 4 months, 7 months and just shy of 2 months, respectively. I credit this in part to the fact that we signed a specific number of signs to them in the beginning, as not to overwhelm them.
The analogy is this - if you dump out a box of puzzle pieces that has 24 pieces on the floor for your 2 or 3 year old, it is going to take a LONG time for them to put that together to get the big picture. If instead you start with a simple 4 piece puzzle set it is easier to see how the pieces fit. It will also make it easier on you, the parent or caregiver in remembering to sign these specific signs. As long as you pick the right signs to start with, you will have great success in signing just these specific 3 to 5 signs in the beginning and build gradually from there.
Take away:
Start with 3-5 signs, this way you are not overwhelmed with the idea of "teaching" your baby to sign.
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Baby Sign Language 101 - Wait to introduce new signs
Ever have a teething, sick or otherwise cranky baby? Does your baby appear to have their "learning hat" on at that time? Probably not. I encourage parents to continue using the signs they already have in their toolbelt, but to hold off on introducing new signs when their baby is in the midst of one of these common upsets. Instead of adding to the frustration of what is ailing them by showing a new sign, wait until they feel better to add new signs where you both will gain.
There may be an exception to this. For instance when my daughter was sick and I needed to give her medicine, I never thought to sign it to her. She didn't do well taking medicine... I also didn't know that much about homeopathy at the time either and am convinced that her unwilliingness to take the medicine was a sign from her that her body didn't need these chemicals.... anyway that is another post altogether. It wasn't until my 3rd baby that all OTC cold medicines were deemed unsafe for children under 2yo.
With my boys, I found that by signing medicine a few times before giving them something that indeed was a helpful remedy, one they could feel in just minutes, seemed to make them more receptive to taking the medicine, as in they had made the correlation that the teething tablets by Hylands were a good thing, and I would also then sign medicine for the other types of cold medicine I gave them and they took it with greater ease than Amberly had.
Take away:
If your baby is teething, overtired, ill, or otherwise cranky, wait until he or she is happy and feels better to introduce new signs.
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
There may be an exception to this. For instance when my daughter was sick and I needed to give her medicine, I never thought to sign it to her. She didn't do well taking medicine... I also didn't know that much about homeopathy at the time either and am convinced that her unwilliingness to take the medicine was a sign from her that her body didn't need these chemicals.... anyway that is another post altogether. It wasn't until my 3rd baby that all OTC cold medicines were deemed unsafe for children under 2yo.
With my boys, I found that by signing medicine a few times before giving them something that indeed was a helpful remedy, one they could feel in just minutes, seemed to make them more receptive to taking the medicine, as in they had made the correlation that the teething tablets by Hylands were a good thing, and I would also then sign medicine for the other types of cold medicine I gave them and they took it with greater ease than Amberly had.
Take away:
If your baby is teething, overtired, ill, or otherwise cranky, wait until he or she is happy and feels better to introduce new signs.
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
Baby Sign Language 101 - Sing and Sign the ABCs
Do you love singing to your baby? Babies love the sound of their mothers voice, and dad's too for that matter! Don't be shy, sing and sing often. This can be anything from your favorite songs on the radio to nursery rhymes or even the ABCs if you don't recall any nursery rhymes ; )
I used to sing and sign the ABCs to Amberly while she was in her carseat (obviously while my husband was driving) and she would usually stop fussing because she had something else to focus on other than the fact that she was stuck in her carseat. Incorporating more than one of your child's senses helps them with learning! I'm convinced that because Amberly learned to sign the alphabet very early on, she was able to learn to write with ease with no real guidance from me. Many of the hand shapes for the letters resemble the written letter.
Here is a video where I am singing and signing the ABCs SLOWLY so you can capture each letter.
Another reason signing the alphabet is helpful for preschoolers, they will notice that there are 5 distinct letters in that middle part and not lump them all together "L M N O P" as many toddlers and preschoolers do ; )
Take away:
Sing and sign the ABC's with your baby from when they are itty bitty, it helps them with language acquisition.
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
I used to sing and sign the ABCs to Amberly while she was in her carseat (obviously while my husband was driving) and she would usually stop fussing because she had something else to focus on other than the fact that she was stuck in her carseat. Incorporating more than one of your child's senses helps them with learning! I'm convinced that because Amberly learned to sign the alphabet very early on, she was able to learn to write with ease with no real guidance from me. Many of the hand shapes for the letters resemble the written letter.
Here is a video where I am singing and signing the ABCs SLOWLY so you can capture each letter.
Another reason signing the alphabet is helpful for preschoolers, they will notice that there are 5 distinct letters in that middle part and not lump them all together "L M N O P" as many toddlers and preschoolers do ; )
Take away:
Sing and sign the ABC's with your baby from when they are itty bitty, it helps them with language acquisition.
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
Baby Sign Language 101 - Facial Expression
Did you know that babies look at the human face for longer periods of time than any other object? The reason can be argued that it is because that is how they learn language. ASL may not be a verbal language, but looking at the human face is just as important as the hands to learn the language as the facial expression depicts the meaning of the word.
"Wake up" and "Surprised" are essecntially the same sign, but it is the facial expression that gives the other person the idea of which word is being expressed.
Take away -
Use maximum facial expression when demonstrating new signs to your baby, babies learn most by looking at our face!
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
"Wake up" and "Surprised" are essecntially the same sign, but it is the facial expression that gives the other person the idea of which word is being expressed.
Take away -
Use maximum facial expression when demonstrating new signs to your baby, babies learn most by looking at our face!
Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.
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