Top Tips and Tricks for Signing with Your Baby or Young Child: Tip #4

Image Credit

Today's tip for signing with your baby or young child is, "Take Advantage of Teachable Moments."

One of the most effective ways to gradually weave sign language into your communication is to be on the lookout for teachable moments. If, for example, your child reaches for a ball, she is communicating with you that she wants the ball. This is a teachable moment. Take the time to label the word ball, verbally and in sign, then give her the ball. Say and sign the word several times as your baby explores the ball and looks to you for reassurance and information.

It's fairly natural to add labels when we communicate with babies and young children verbally. For example, think about what happens when the kitty walks into the room (or a bird perches on the porch railing, or a dog passes by when you are playing at the park . . . ). Your baby will likely look at the kitty (bird/dog), then look at you expectantly. Without even thinking about it, you will probably say something like, "That's the kitty. You like that kitty, don't you?" The only thing that's different when you are signing is that you would also sign the word, kitty/cat (or bird, or dog) during the conversation.

The main trick is that you need to develop a sign language vocabulary so you are "on the ready" when these teachable moments present themselves. As I mentioned in Tip #3, take a moment to think about what your child is most interested in (and/or what you see a lot of and/or do a lot of during the course of a day). This will help you narrow down some priority vocabulary words that match with your child's interests and activities.

Once you've narrowed down some vocabulary words that you want to focus on, start singing! Hands down, that's the easiest way to build your sign language vocabulary. I've written several posts about singing and signing. Click here to link to an article that's a good starting point on this topic if you need some guidance in this area.

Lastly, make sure the teachable moments you are taking advantage of do not have the makings for a power struggle. If your baby is especially eager to receive the ball, she is not going to be very happy with you if you hold back on sharing the ball just so you can sign ball. Likewise, if your baby is really hungry, he is not going to be very patient with you if you insist on signing more before offering each bite of food. Take advantage of teachable moments, yes, but keep the tone playful. If this proves difficult, start out by signing primarily during playtime, and then ease into other contexts.

So what are you waiting for? The next teachable moment is just around the corner. Happy Signing!

Top Tips and Tricks for Signing with Your Baby or Young Child: Tip #3

Today's tip for signing with your baby or young child is, "Follow Your Child's Lead."

Take a moment to consider what your child is most interested in communicating about right now. Is your child fascinated with the candles on your table or the train you've set up in your house? Maybe you have a tree inside or there is snow or rain outside that has captured you baby's attention? What are your child's favorite activities or objects. Does your baby love eating bananas? Is your toddler preoccupied with balls or books? These are the signs to focus on in the beginning.

Image Source Here

Interact with your baby around these interests just as you ordinarily would. By this I mean, continue having conversations throughout the day that sound something like this:

"Look at the train. Here it comes again. Whoo! Whoo! You like that train, don't you?"

"Where is the ball? There is the ball! Yay! You found the ball!"

"Who wants some bananas? Yum, yum. Do you want more bananas?"

Express yourself verbally just as you normally would. The only change to your communication is to casually add a sign for key words, such as train, ball, or banana. Also, as you identify particular interest-based words you want to place additional emphasis on, make a point to incorporate these words into the songs you sing and your playtime activities with your baby.

Before long, your baby or young child will actively point to objects of interest and use eye contact and grunts to let you know that they want labels for more and more of the things around them! Offering word labels will be fairly easy for you because it is something that comes naturally. ("That's a kitty. Do you want to pet the kitty?"). As you notice yourself offering word labels, make a point to look up the sign for key words, so you can easily add a sign label to that conversation the next time (and the next time) it occurs. Here are a couple of helpful online dictionaries to turn to:

Signing Savvy

Lifeprint

Signing Time

As your baby sees you signing more often, he or she will gradually develop a signing vocabulary as well. Watch out for the FUN to come!

Feel free to reach out via the comments section below or the contact form to the left with specific questions or good news stories as your child develops a growing signing vocabulary. Also, get in touch if you would like YOUR BABY'S PICTURE to be featured in an upcoming blog post.

Happy Signing!

Top Tips and Tricks for Signing with Your Baby or Young Child: Tip #2

I've spent the last several weeks focusing on the importance of Strong School Libraries. Although #SchoolLibrariesMatter has been trending on Twitter, there is still much work to do! If you have a story to tell about the importance of school libraries, I encourage you to get involved and share your story here.  

Click Here for Image Source

Today, I return my attention to another great passion of mine, Infant/Toddler Sign Language, and I'll continue with the next installment in my latest series of posts: Top tips and tricks to help you successfully sign with your baby. 

Top Tip #2: Resist the Temptation to Focus Only on Signs that Gratify You:  

We all want our children to learn to say please, thank you (and sleep!), and these are definitely great signs for you to use as your signing vocabulary grows. However, in my experience, these concepts are not the best signs to focus on in the early stages of signing. Instead, begin by focusing on the actions and objects your baby has a distinct need to communicate on a regular basis.

Babies will absolutely learn to sign please, (and they will usually learn to sign this word quite quickly). But in my estimation, what your baby is really saying when he or she signs please is,  I want, or more! Babies don't yet have the ability to distinguish between their needs and our societal niceties.  

The sign for thank you takes longer for babies to produce (often, much longer). This is not because the sign for thank you is particularly difficult to maneuver--it's not. It looks similar to blowing a kiss. The issue is that the sign for thank you doesn't generally yield anything tangible for the baby in return for producing the sign (whereas producing the sign for please often results in getting a want or need met).

I have yet to meet a baby who has woken their parents in the middle of the night just to thank them for all of the trouble they've gone through on their behalf. Babies cry in the night to convey that they want milk, or need a diaper change, or that something is hurting them (or, in the case of my daughter, that she was hungry for a banana), but babies don't wake up  their parents just to say, "thanks." It's the things they want to say to you (not the things you hope to hear them say), that babies will most likely sign first. 

All that said, it's absolutely fine to use the signs for please and thank you when you verbalize those words to your child. My point is to resist the temptation to emphasize these signs when you are first getting started, (particularly at the expense of other, more want/need-focused signs), realizing that babies tend to be most motivated to sign the words that help them get their wants and needs met.

I do have a suggestion for a fun game to play that provides an opportunity to practice the sign for thank you when your child goes through the developmental stage of giving and taking back a particular toy over and over again. You know this game. The child hands you a ball. You say thank you. Then they take it back. Then they hand you the ball. You say thank you. Then they take it back. To add signing to this playful game, just add the sign for thank you every time you say the words thank you. You can also add the object of interest if you know it. For example: "You have a ball. May I have the ball? Thank you! Uh oh. Where did the ball go? Oh, you have the ball. May I have the ball? Thank you . . ."

Want more details about using focus signs? Click here for a detailed post on the topic.

Want YOUR BABY's photo featured in this blog? Please contact me using the comments section below or the contact form to the left. 

Want more tips? Follow the blog. More tips coming soon! 

Happy Signing! 

Top Tips and Tricks for Signing with Your Baby or Young Child: Tip #1

Image Source

Are you looking for the secret ingredients to help you successfully sign with your baby? In this new series of posts, I'll divulge my top baby signing tips and tricks. Although the primary audience for these posts are folks who are interested in signing with preverbal infants and toddlers, the tips and tricks can be useful for everyone who is signing with young children.

Top Tip #1: Use Signs Liberally, But Select One or Two Key Signs to Focus On at a Time:  

Frequently incorporate the signs you have personally mastered into songs, games, and routine communication with your child.  Focus more deliberately on high-use words such as 'more' and 'all done,' since there are many times throughout the day your child will want to communicate these concepts to you.  With the signs you select to focus on, gently show your baby how to make the sign with their own hands in addition to using the signs yourself. Once your baby learns these signs, select new focus signs. 

Want more details about using focus signs? Click here for a detailed post on the topic.

Want YOUR BABY's photo featured in this blog? Please contact me using the comments section below or the contact form to the left. 

Want more tips? Follow the blog. More tips coming soon! 

Happy Signing! 

Focus on Key Words Your Child Wants to Say

Photo Courtesy of Pfau's Photostream

Back in August, I started a series of posts summarizing the key learning points I cover in my infant/toddler signing workshops. I began by saying that signing opportunities come in three main contexts: When you sing and play with your baby,  when you verbally label routine activities and objects throughout the day, and when you focus on key words that are important to you and your baby. This posts brings us to the area of focus signs.

In my experience, many signers start (and end) with focus signs. They choose one or two or three key words and sign the dickens out of those until their baby starts signing back to them. Although this is certainly one way to sign with your baby, I find that it is not the most effective or natural way. This approach to signing is more intentional. It tends to be more goal-oriented and steeped with expectation (and as a result, frustration). When we focus deliberately on key signs, it's not unusual for the signing experience to feel like work instead of feeling like a way to connect with and engage our baby. If we begin (and end) with focus signs, our signing is more likely to feel like a technique we are doing on our baby, versus a way of communicating with our baby.

Okay, so I'm biased. I can't hide that...But let me also say that it's not that I'm against signing key focus words. Rather, it's that I think it's more effective (and more natural) for focus signs to be a sub-set of the words you sign when you sing and play and when you label, versus the only words, or even the main words, you sign.

The truth of the matter is that focus signs are essentially power labels. Ideally, focus signs grow out of the foundation you've built through singing, playing and labeling. Here's how it all ties in together: If you sign when you sing and play, you'll build an ample signing vocabulary. This means you'll be able to casually and naturally provide sign labels for the activities and objects in your daily life. Your focus signs will be those activities and objects that you hear yourself labeling most often, over and over again. So essentially, your focus signs will emerge naturally by signing when you sing, play and label.

That said, people tend to appreciate guidelines, so here goes:

Consider the signs you incorporate when you sing, play and label. Of those, choose 1-3 words to work on.

Focus on words your baby would say if he or she were able to clearly verbalize wants, needs, or interests. You baby's first signs will be words he or she is motivated to say.

For singing and playing, I've said, "Use 'The Wheels on the Bus' as your guide."  For labeling, I've said, "Label when you're able, let your words be your guide." For focus signs, think about how we teach babies to wave "bye-bye" or do "high-five's," and use that experience as your guide. By this I mean, consider what it's like when Grandma leaves your house after a visit. She stands by her car and waves emphatically at your baby.  You hold your baby on your hip and wave to Grandma. You take hold of your baby's arm and wave it wildly at Grandma. Grandma waves some more. One day, your baby pumps his or her arm up and down. It might not look the same as the way you wave, but you recognize it as your baby's early attempt at waving. You and Grandma cheer with enthusiasm.  You document it in the baby book. You call people and let them know that your baby has started waving! It's a big deal.

Photo Courtesy of Pfau's Photostream

Focus signs work in much the same way. You bounce your baby on your lap. You're baby giggles wildly, so you know he or she is having fun. During a bouncing break, you say and sign, "Do you want MORE bounces?" Your baby squeals with excitement and wiggles.  YES exudes from his or her body. You bounce more. You break again. You sign "MORE bounces?" again. You hear more squeals and see more happy wiggles. This scene replays many times day after day. One day you see your baby bring his or her hands together during this routine. It might look like a clap. It might be a pointer finger tapped on the palm of the opposing hand. It might look like an accident. Assume it's intentional. Cheer with enthusiasm. Respond with more bounces. Document it in the baby book. Be on the lookout for more signs to come, because, I'm telling you people, the fun has just begun!

I hope that was helpful! Thanks for sticking with me for this series of posts summarizing the key learning points in my signing workshops. Next up, I will post a summary of links for the full series of posts on this topic, then I will move on to a more general forum of common Q and A's, more tips and tricks, and new topics! If you have particular questions you want answered, post them here or send me a private message, and I will respond to your questions in subsequent posts.