Quick Ideas for Getting Started with Signing: Summary Post

Image Courtesy of Tagxedo.com

For the past several weeks, I've been sharing the key learning points in my infant/toddler sign language workshops. I thought it might be helpful to provide a summary post with links to all of the earlier posts provided in one handy spot. This is a post you may want to bookmark and/or share with your friends. Here goes:

Quick Ideas for Getting Started With Signing (August 27, 2012)
Introductory post.

Sing Your Heart Out (September 4, 2012)
Tips for signing along with familiar songs you regularly sing and/or the silly songs you make up.

Sing it Loud. Sing it Clear (September 12, 2012)
Tips for practicing signs by modifying the lyrics to familiar children's songs.

Music for Signers (September 19, 2012)
Some of my favorite published musical collections to sign along with.

Sing and Sign When You Read (September 26, 2012)
Practical ideas for how to incorporate signing into your reading time.

Sing Me a Story (October 8, 2012)
A listing of the melodies that match up with the books in my Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series.

Sign When You Play (October 17, 2012)
Practical ideas for incorporating signs into your playtime activities.

Put it to the "Wheels on the Bus Test" (October 24, 2012)
Reassuring responses to common questions and concerns about signing.

Label When You're Able: Let Your Words Be Your Guide (November 8, 2012)
Practical ideas for providing sign labels (in addition to verbal labels) for key activities or objects.

Label When You're Able, Part Two (November 14, 2012)
Responses to common questions about how to provide sign labels in context.

Focus on Key Words Your Child Wants to Say (November 19, 2012)
Practical ideas for providing additional focus on key words in sign language.

In addition, click here for a collection of wonderful resources that my publisher, ABDO Publishing Group, has put together, including Sign Language Glossaries, Story Time Activity Packets and Sign Language Event Guides.

I hope this is a helpful summary. In future posts 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'll respond to your questions in a subsequent post.

Happy Thanksgiving!  (Here are links to the signs for Turkey and Thanksgiving!)

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.

Label When You're Able: Let Your Words Be Your Guide

If you've been trying out some of the signing tips and ideas in my earlier posts, you'll see that much of what I've discussed thus far involves signing without regard to context. We've talked about adding signs to the songs you sing with your child, and engaging in signing in the same relaxed and playful way that you engage in familiar finger plays such as "The Wheels on the Bus," or "Patty Cake." This helps you build your own signing vocabulary (and confidence!), and it gets your child into the habit of looking at your hands for meaning.

We've also talked about signing when you read and signing when you play with your child.

These ideas gradually shift us into the idea of signing within a context, or providing sign labels (in addition to verbal labels) for key activities or objects.

Think about how many verbal labels you provide in a day:  "It's time for a diaper change,"Let's put on your socks," "Yum. Yum. You like peas, don't you?" "Let's put some carrots in our grocery cart," "Here's your water," "Where is the ball?" "Look at you dancing!" "It's bath time." The list goes on and on. When we talk to our baby throughout the day, we are labeling the world around them.

To add sign labels, you simply add signs that go along with the words you are saying. In my last post, I discussed the idea of putting your questions about signing to "The Wheels on the Bus Test" when you are singing and playing. When you are labeling, I like to say, "Label when you're able. Let your words be your guide."

What I mean by this is to listen to yourself talk. Notice the words you tend to say over and over again, (such as "It's time for a diaper change, or "Let's put on your socks,"). You don't need to sign every word you say, nor do you need to sign every word you happen to know a sign for in a particular sentence. But as you talk, when you hear yourself saying a particular word that goes along with an activity or object you doing or seeing, add the sign for that activity or object (or make a note to look up the sign, links to online sign language dictionary can be found here), so you can add it the next time you say the same words).

Just like I don't subscribe to the notion that there should be a lot of rules (or shoulds and should-nots) when you sign as you sing and play, likewise, I don't subscribe to the notion that there are necessarily right and wrong ways to sign in context. That said, lots of people have questions about this aspect of signing, and I will aim to address those in my next post. If you have particular questions of your own, note them in the comment section below, and I will include your questions in my discussion!

Put It to The Wheels on the Bus Test

I don't think there are right or wrong ways to sign with your baby, just like I don't think there are right or wrong ways to sing and play "The Wheels on the Bus."  Certainly there are right or wrong ways to make a particular sign, but in terms of the "how to incorporate signs into your communication" aspect of signing, I don't subscribe to the notion that there are right or wrong ways. When people ask me, "Is it okay if I....?" or "How do I....?" or "What if I....?" my standing answer is, "Put it to the Wheels on the Bus test." By this I mean, how would you answer the exact same question if you were singing and playing, "The Wheels on the Bus" (or "Patty Cake" or "Peek-A-Boo") with your child?

For example, it's fairly common for class participants to ask if they should sign with their right or left hand. I explain that although most ASL dictionaries are written for right-handed signers, you can choose your right or your left hand to be your dominant or active signing hand. That's typically the hand that moves (or moves the most) when you're making a particular sign. When I answer this question, inevitably someone will ask, "But what if I sign with my right hand and my parenting partner signs with his or her left hand?"

So, let's put that to The Wheels on the Bus Test. What hand do you "Beep-Beep-Beep" with? What hand does your parenting partner "Beep-Beep-Beep" with? Is it the same hand? Whether your answer is yes, or no, the more important additional question is, "Have you ever contemplated this issue before?" (this issue being the possibility of you beep-beeping with a different hand than someone else who loves your baby...) I suspect no, and I encourage you to likewise not spend time contemplating who signs with what hand with your baby. Your baby will not likely develop his or her own hand dominance until at least preschool or kindergarten. Your baby will see you signing (or waving, or pointing or writing) with your dominant (most comfortable) hand, and when they begin signing (or waving or pointing or writing), they will typically begin by alternating between hands...i.e. whatever hand doesn't have a cookie in it, is the hand they will likely use to sign MILK (or, if they're really enthusiastic, they will probably sign milk with both hands, simultaneously!)

Okay, so here are a couple of other  common questions: "Is it okay to manipulate my baby's hands to help him or her make the signs?" or "Should I make the signs on my baby's body?" Let's put these questions to The Wheels on the Bus Test: Do you ever hold your babies hands/arms and help them go "round and round" or "swish, swish, swish?" Do you ever "Beep-Beep-Beep" on their nose? For some of you, the answer is, "Absolutely!" For others, your answer might be, "It depends." And it does depend...Some babies like to have their hands manipulated and/or have signs made on their body. Other babies do not.

My daughter used to hold her hands out towards me and say, "Help, Mommy," if she was trying to make a complicated sign. My son used to arch his back and say, "By myself!" if I tried to manipulate his hands to help him form a sign. Two different kids. Two different personalities. Two different preferences. Two different answers. How did I know what to do? I paid attention to their nonverbal queues. If your child doesn't like having his or her arms moved for them in the "round and round" motion for "The Wheels on the Bus," they likely won't like having their arms moved for them to make the handshapes for signs. If your child giggles when you Beep-Beep-Beep on their nose, they will likely giggle when you make the sign for APPLE on their cheek.

So, what are your questions about signing? How would you answer these same questions if you were singing/playing "The Wheels on the Bus" instead of signing? Generally speaking, I hope your answers give you peace of mind and help you relax and have fun with signing. If you're relaxed and having fun when you're signing, you'll likely sign more often than if you are feeling stressed or rule-bound while you're signing. If you're signing regularly, your baby will catch you signing more often and will eventually start copying you. Once they develop the cognitive and physical skills to copy you, they are just steps away from being able to sign independently to communicate their wants and needs. And then the real fun begins!

Stay tuned. More on this later!

Sign When You Play (More Quick Ideas for Getting Started with Signing)

Have you ever wondered, "Why isn't my baby signing back to me yet?" There are several possible reasons, but sometimes it's simply because you haven't yet introduced signs that are of interest to your baby. Another possibility is that the bulk of your signing has been in task mode. Do a quick self check: Do you predominantly sign "more" and "all done" during mealtime, and reserve the signs for "change" and "sleep" to diaper changes and nap times? If your answer is, "Yes," I'll encourage you to shift your attention a bit, so that the majority of your signing happens when you are singing and when you're playing.

The last several posts I've talked about the value of singing and signing. Equally effective is signing during playful times.  I find that parents and caregivers are more successful at signing with their babies if the majority of their contextual signing is introduced during play time. That doesn't mean you shouldn't sign during mealtime or during diaper changes and before nap time. It just means that ideally those aren't the only times (or even the majority of the times) you are signing about those topics.

When we're focused on a task (such as getting our baby fed, diapered or down for a nap), we are generally more hurried and focused on getting the task accomplished. Mealtime can be stressful when you're trying to get your baby fed and get a little morsel of food into your own mouth as well! Adding an additional "task," such as signing, requires a conscious effort to add an "extra" step to an already stressful process. As a result, it might feel like work, or like a technique we're trying out on our baby versus a way of communicating with our baby.

When signing is emphasized during playful times, your habits around signing will be established more deeply, and you will be able to more easily incorporate those signing habits into task activities as well. This is because when signing becomes a habit, it becomes routine and natural to join your words with a sign. Think about how you wave and point without giving it any thought. You body just naturally adds those gestures to your communication. When you build the foundation for signing through playful activities, your body will likewise more naturally gesture with signs when you use those same words during task activities.

Here are some examples of how you can incorporate signing into playtime:

*Bounce your baby on your lap. Stop every now and then and ask your baby if she wants MORE bounces.

*Tickle your baby or blow raspberries on your baby's belly. Stop every now and then and ask your baby if he wants MORE tickles or more kisses.

*Put your baby in the wind-up swing and say, "It's time to SWING."  When the swing stops, say, "would you like to swing some MORE?" When you can tell that your baby has grown tired of swinging you can say, "We're ALL DONE swinging."

*Blow some bubbles.  When the bubbles die down, ask your baby, "Do you want MORE bubbles?"

*Play some music.  Say, "Let's turn on the MUSIC." Once your baby starts movin and groovin, say, "Look at you DANCING!"

*Cover up a favorite object such as a ball or a book or a doll. Sing "WHERE is the BALL" to the tune of the "Farmer in the Dell" (i.e. "Where is the ball? Where is the ball? Hi Ho the Derry-O. There is the ball").

*Put a baby doll or teddy bear into the high chair or booster seat. Playfully interact with your child and the baby doll. When you feed the baby doll, you can say, "Do you want more BANANAS?" or "Oh look, the BABY likes her bananas," or, "Oh, it looks like the baby is ALL DONE," as you are cleaning up the baby doll and taking her out of the high chair.

*Use one of your old (clean!) diapers from when your baby was younger, and playfully interact with your child to give a teddy bear a diaper change. Say, "It's time for the teddy bear to get his DIAPER changed."  When the diaper change is over, say, "We're ALL DONE with your diaper change, Teddy."

*Get a box of bandages and examine your legs and your baby's legs to find some owies.  When you find a bruise or a shaving nick, or a scratch, say, "Uh Oh. Mommy has an owie," (and sign HURT). Toddlers love to help you cover your legs with bandages!

The more you sign during playtime, the more familiar you will become with a wide variety of signs, and this will help you become more comfortable incorporating signs during routine tasks. In addition, your baby will have more and more opportunities to notice you signing. Your baby will come to realize that your hands are full of meaning...and theirs can be, too!

Sing Me a Story (More Quick Ideas for Getting Started with Signing)

If you've seen me read any of my books, you know I like to sing them to kids, not just read them. Many of my signing stories came to me as songs that grew into stories. It's nearly impossible for me to  just read them!

When I'm invited for guest appearances at conferences and book signings, I'm often asked, "What tune were you singing to when you read us that story?" This post is for those of you who are wondering just that! Beware, some of the tunes are loose fits...you have to be creative and embellish as you read and sing. Here goes:

Series One:

The Best Day in Room A:  The Twelve Days of Christmas. This one works best if you skip the rhythm/pattern change that typically happens in the fifth verse in this song. 

The Big Blue Bowl:  This was originally written to fit to the tune of "The Green Grass Grows All Around," but that tie-in was lost as the story changed during the editorial process. I find that this one works best when I simply read it--but I like to add to the fun by inviting participants to chant along with the "fill it up, fill it up, fill it up" refrain, which kids REALLY get into.

Famous Fenton Has a Farm:  This one fits nicely to "Old MacDonald." Invite participants to chant, "Yee Ha Hee Ha Ho!" with you (instead of the more traditional E-I-E-I-O) and they will have a grand time!

The Nest Where I Like to Rest:  This story fits the structure of "The House That Jack Built," so it does not go with any particular song that I know of.  I invite children to "sniff" like the rat, "honk" with the goose, and say "Hey!" with the boy when I read this one. I also wear my silly chicken hat when I read this story. 

See the Colors:  This one fits beautifully to "Oh My Darlin, Clementine." I CANNOT just read this story. I wrote and revised the verses for this one while my own kids were still small enough to hold in my arms. I have very fond memories of sitting with my then preschool-aged daughter while holding my then infant son, singing various "under construction" verses of this story for nightly tuck-ins.  This book still holds a very special place in my heart. Here is a clip of me singing this story.   

Silly Sue:  This one fits nicely to the tune of "Skip to My Lu." I embellish some of the words when I read it to get into the song (i.e. I tend to chant, "And I say...." right before I read the pages such as "Slide, slide, slide Silly Sue....").  I also invite the kids to chant along and sign "Silly" with the refrain, "That Silly Sue." This one is really fun to sing and sign. Try it! 

Watch Me Go:  This one fits with the tune, "She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain."  I invite kids to echo "Watch me Go!" "Don't you know?" and "Here I go!" for extra fun!  I sang this story at my very first book launch event. One of my favorite memories is of my local library's meeting room full of loving friends and supporters, singing and signing along with me.  

Wear a Silly Hat:  This story originally fit loosely to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It" but the text of the story doesn't include the full level of repetition of that song.  I usually read the first line of each page, then I sing the remaining lines to the "Happy and You Know It" tune.  I use hats for props to add to the fun. I love using hats to dress up my stories!

Series Two:

A to Z Sign With Me: I had the tune of the Alphabet Song (aka: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) in my head when I wrote this book. It fits loosely...very loosely. Also, you have to repeat the melody as you proceed through the story, because the story is longer than the song. I find that I don't usually sing this story because I like to read it with a pace that enables me to really emphasize each featured alphabet word. 

Four Season! Five Senses!: This story is a series of four poems. They were not written with a particular melody in mind. (Interesting tidbit: I wrote these poems while sitting in a hotel room near Disneyland. I stayed back in the hotel to tend to my son, who was sick with the flu, while my daughter and husband spent the day at the California Adventure theme park. My son slept most of the day. I stayed by his side and wrote poetry). This continues to be one of my favorite books. I especially adore the artwork. 

Hip, Hip, Hooray! It's Family Day!, Opposites Everywhere, and Shape Detective: These stories do not fit to a particular song, but each have a strong rhythm, and they are fun to chant!  

One Trick for One Treat: This story does not fit to a particular melody, but in the early stages of development, it did. The story originally began, "The first time the bell chimed..." and it fit with the rhythm of the Twelve Days of Christmas. After many, many revisions, the original structure was set aside and the current, chant-able rhythm prevailed.

So Many Feelings: I LOVE to sing this story. You can sing this story to the tune of "On Top of Spaghetti." Kids catch on within a few pages and they start to sing or hum along. FUN!

There's a Story in My Head: This story is all rhythm and no melody. I remember distinctly when the rhythm for this story came to me. I was on the airplane (flying back home from the above mentioned trip to Disneyland). I felt the rhythm of the story tapping out of my fingers before I had the words. 

So there you have it. I hope you have fun singing the singable stories and chanting the chantable stories!  Do you know what I would LOVE? I would love it if readers would capture digital video footage of themselves reading, singing (or chanting) and signing these stories. Any takers? How cool would it be to have a bunch of videos of people reading/singing/chanting my stories on my YouTube channel? Think about it...Give it a try...I can't wait... 

Sing and Sign When You Read (More Ideas for Getting Started with Signing)

Story Time with Signs & Rhymes

One of my favorite things to do is sing and sign when I read to kids. I routinely model this for teachers, librarians and parents when I facilitate in-service training sessions and literacy programs at community education events. After a guest appearance at a conference facilitated by one of my heroes, Nellie Edge, I was encouraged to capture a video of me singing and signing my stories with children. For logistical reasons, this still hasn't happened (lining up cameras and the necessary parental permissions during the same timeframe I've managed to fit in a fresh haircut and wardrobe check has not worked out quite yet).

However, after many gentle nudges from Nellie, I did finally film myself reading my book SEE THE COLORS. Nellie references  the book and video clip in her annual list of favorite new books (you have to scroll down a bit on her page to find it).

The video, (here is the YouTube link), is not nearly as fun or inspiring as it would be if I had a group of engaged kids surrounding me, but it does provide an opportunity to illustrate some of the ideas I encourage you to try at home or in your own classrooms. It provides an example of how the story might be signed if I were reading to a group of children, for example in a classroom or library story time session.

For family story times, cuddle your child(ren) on your lap.  Hold the book in front of you.  You can make some of the signs like "blue" or "green" in front of the pages of the book (instead of near your shoulder, where these signs are typically made). You can also make some of the signs on your child's body (for example, tug on your child's tee shirt for the sign "white," or move your pointer finger across your child's eyebrow for the sign "black").  If you prop your child more sideways (vs. forward) on your lap, you can make the signs on your own body, and you will notice that your child will look up from the book to watch your hands and face, where the signing action is taking place.

For some kids, you can also use their hands to make the signs. For example, I use the sign for "baby"(or for older kids, "child") to convey the repeating phrase "little one."  Try cuddling your child's arms into the "baby" motion to make this sign.  For the sign "brown," you can move your child's open hand down their cheek to approximate the motion.  Some kids really like having their hands manipulated in this way; others don't.  My daughter used to hold her hands out to me and say "help" when she was having trouble articulating a more complicated new word (such as "helicopter"). My son, on the other hand, would arch his back and aggressively move his arms and hands away from me saying, "by myself!" if I tried to manipulate his hands to make a sign.  Let your baby be your guide!

And be relaxed about it.  Don't be afraid to put the book down from time to time.  You can set it on your lap, or you can set it down next to you. You might find that you and your child(ren) get sidetracked talking back and forth about different signs.  That's fine.  The whole point is to interact and to explore language and literacy together!

I also encourage you to use books that you are really familiar with, books that you and your child really enjoy, and books that feel rhythmic and musical to you. For example, children's classics like "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" aren't officially singable, but they have a rhythmic quality to them.  Chant and sign along with those stories!

Many of my books from the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes Series can be sung, not just read. In my next post, I'll provide a summary of the familiar tunes that match up with my singable stories. In the meantime, please feel free to share other books you like to sing and sign along with in the comments section below!
    

Music for Signers (More Ideas for Getting Started with Signing)

I love to incorporate songs and music into my signing classes. In my last two posts, I've shared ideas for   singing and signing with songs you already know and modifying familiar songs so they work well for signing. Today's post is about signing along with music that was written for signers.

Here are some of my favorite musical collections to sign along with:

Signing Time  offers a wonderful collection of music and videos that are developed specifically for young signers.  Some of my favorites from this collection include the Silly Pizza Song, The Rainbow Song, and Leah's Farm.

You can learn the signs that go along with these songs by watching the Signing Time videos on demand, and for book lovers, you can
learn the signs for colors and the signs for farm animals, in my books,

SEE THE COLORS

          and FAMOUS FENTON HAS A FARM.











Other fun options include Lora Heller's Stinky Feet CD,

Monta Briant and Susan Z's Songs for Little Hands Activity Guide and CD,

                                                       Nellie Edge's ABC Phonics 

      

     and one of my longstanding favorites, Sign2Me's Pick Me Up.  

My school-aged kids STILL love it when I put on this CD.  Their favorite cuts:  "Please Change my Diaper" and "More Milk." It's hilarious to watch them yak it up and mimic the deep voice in "More Milk" and listen to them crack up at the silly lyrics in "Please Change my Diaper."  

These musical selections ought to keep you busy singing and signing for awhile. Next post I'll talk about singing and signing when you read. In the meantime, let me know if you have other musical selections to suggest!

Sing It Loud, Sing It Clear (More Ideas for Getting Started with Signing)

Do the lyrics, "Sing it loud...sing it clear...Don't worry if it's not good enough, for anyone else to hear..." take you anywhere? These lyrics (and this "Sing" montage) take me straight back to my childhood. I grew up on three episodes of Sesame Street a day. All it takes is a few opening notes or some key lyrics to jog my memory of the classic songs from my youth.  Music is like that.  It gets into our bones. It sticks with us. It helps us learn. Singing is my favorite way to help kids (and grown ups) learn and practice new words in sign language.

In my last post, I talked about signing along with songs you already know, and making up your own songs to sign along with. Building on this idea, another option is to modify the lyrics to familiar children's songs. Take for example, "Here we Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush."  In its original form, it's not that meaningful of a song to sign along with (re: How many babies do you suspect are clamoring to convey the words "Mulberry Bush" to their caregivers? None that I can think of!).  But the song has a nice rhythm to it, and it's got built-in repetition, so it makes a great "shell" from which you can create some customized ditties. For example, "This is the way we ask for milk, ask for milk, ask for milk.  This is the way we ask for milk, when we we want some milk" or "This is the way we ask for more..." or "This is way we say "all done...."

There are limitless possibilities to the songs you can modify for this purpose.  Start with the songs that your parents sang to you when you were a child.  The songs that will work best will be the ones with melodies that you are personally familiar with 2) that have a nice rhythm, 3) built-in repetition, and 4) that you can bear to sing over and over again.

To get you started, some of my favorite melodies to sign along with include:

-"If You're Happy and You Know It" (try: "If you're hungry (thirsty/sleepy) and you know it...ask to eat (drink/sleep...)")

-"Did You Ever See a Lassie?" (try: "Did you ever seen a carrot (cracker/apple)...as yummy as this carrot (cracker/apple...?)" or "Did you ever see a monkey (tiger/lion) as silly/noisy as this monkey (tiger/lion)?")

-"Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" (try: "Shoo cat (dog/bird) don't bother me...For I belong to my mommy/daddy.")

-"Skip to my Lu" (try: "Eat, eat, eat little one...Eat little one, it's yummy," or "Sleep, sleep, sleep little one...Sleep little one, it's nap time.")

-"London Bridge" (try: "Baby girl/boy put on your hat (socks/shoes), put on your hat, put on your hat. Baby girl/boy, put on your hat, for your mommy/daddy.")

At the risk of being redundant, the public library is a great place to visit if you don't have a ready supply of tunes in mind. Look for CDs that have some of the above songs listed, and you will be sure to get a collection of several songs that will work.  And of course, for those of you who have digitized your musical lives, iTunes likely has a ready supply of kid tunes to choose from.

Alas, don't feel like you have to limit yourself to children's songs! I once had a class participant ask if it was okay to sing and sign along to Michael Jackson melodies at home. (As I recall, the class spontaneously broke into a round of  "Just Eat It" to the tune of "Just Beat It.")  My advice to her was that any song would do as long as she and her baby were having fun.

This leads me to my last point for today's post: Do be sure to choose songs that your baby responds to and seems to enjoy. My youngest kiddo taught me this lesson the hard way.  He was just a few months old when he started (vigorously!) signing "all done" whenever I'd start singing to him. At the time, my go-to song was "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."  My older child LOVED that song when she was a baby and toddler.  Our Old MacDonald had everything you could imagine on his farm (...and on that farm there were some crackers....peas....bears....cars...dolls...).  You name it, if I knew the sign for it, we sang about it on that farm.

When my son came along, I continued the practice of singing and signing to the "Old MacDonald" tune.  What I (eventually!) came to realize is that my son couldn't stand that melody. I'd start singing, and he'd start signing... "all done." I was heartbroken.  Here I was teaching and consulting about the wonders of singing and signing, and how your baby loves the sound of your voice, blah, blah, blah... while back at home my own baby was telling me to STOP SINGING ALREADY, in the one way he knew how: signing "all done."

Thankfully, I came to understand that what he was really saying was, "Stop singing THAT song."  Once I realized that he was more of a "Wheels on the Bus" kinda guy, we were back on track, and singing and signing was fun for everyone.

I recently told my son that I often share this story with my class participants.  His immediate reaction was, "I can't stand that song!"  I guess some things just don't change.

If you have your own picky-listener, stay tuned.  In my next post, I'll share some of my favorite recorded music that has been developed specifically for signers. In the meantime, don't hesitate to share some of your own favorite melodies to sign along with in the comments section below.

Sing Your Heart Out (More Ideas for Getting Started with Signing)

(Photo Credit: San Diego Chorus' Facebook Page)

My mother-in-law has a song for everything. Seriously. If she is buttering bread, she has a song in her repertoire that goes along with that activity.  It's amazing. Do you know someone like her?  Is that person you, or someone else who loves your baby? If so, your family has a head start on signing!

Just give some thought to the songs you already sing. What words can be signed in those songs?  Use an online sign language dictionary to help you gradually build your ASL vocabulary so you can sign along with those songs.  Keep it simple. Don't attempt to sign the whole song. Just add one or two words per song or verse.

Likewise, think about the words you hope your baby will start signing soon. Do you know any songs that include those words? Start singing (and signing) those songs! Make up new verses to add more of the words you want to sign. Heck, make up completely new songs if that's your thing. The point is, lean into your tendency to sing. Just add a sign or two to each song or verse that flows from your mouth and you will be well on your way.

In the beginning, sing and sign without regard to context or literal connections.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the mere act of singing and signing will help you build your signing vocabulary, and it will get your baby into the habit of looking at your hands when they are moving.  These two steps are half the battle! 

Over time, look for opportunities to sing songs that do connect with what you are doing.  If you're getting ready to change a diaper, sing your favorite diaper ditty, and sign "diaper" or "change."  If it's bath time, sing your favorite bath time song and add the sign for "bath" (and then sing an "all done" song when the bath is over).  If the cat or dog walks into the room, sing the "cat" or "dog" verse for  "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," and add the sign for "cat" or "dog."  You get the idea.

In my next post I'll share some ideas for modifying familiar songs as well as some of my favorite songs/music developed for signing.  In the meantime, feel free to add some of your own favorite songs to sing and sign in the comments section.