Baby Signing - Renton,WA

My daycare gal loves "signing time" and it seems to work quite well, my 16-month son is becoming a pro! (although he saw it several times a week, he didn't start using it until after he was 1, fyi....)

Hi J.,

I wanted to let you know that I used a book called baby signs by Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, and Douglas Abrams. Paperback used is 1.98 at Amazon.com, new 10.85. I used baby sign for both of my kids who are now 12 and 9 both boys and it was very helpful!

Best Wishes,
S.

There are sooo many signing books/dvds out there.I've always shopped around, but unfortunitly my books and such are packed right now and can't remember any names off the top of my head.

I do know for babys that Baby Einstien is great! My daughter started watching it when she was about 6 months old and by the time she was about 8-9 months she started signing and had continued to pick up signs left and right.She is now 2.5 yrs old.

I recommend the Signing Time DVDs. Check out www.signingtime.com For an 8 month old, I'd suggest the Baby Signing Time DVDs specifically. My son loves them! And learns a ton!

Enjoy!
L.

J.,

I don't know about the community colleges in your area, but I would recommend signing up for American Sign Language classes there if they offer them. There are sooooo many different things out there that call themselves sign language but are not. Before my 2 year old daughter was born I was in my second year of study at Shoreline Community College. My ultimate goal is to become an interpreter.

I don't know if it would work or not but I'd be willing to help you and your little guy. ASL is such a wonderful language. Kids get the motor skills for the signs at your son's age, but don't talk until they are two. Signing is a great way for the in between time.

Anyway,
Melissa

Check out Baby Signs, we use this system in the child care center I work in.

The Signing Time videos are great. The songs will infect your brain for decades.

I also second the Signing Times dvds. I believe that Signing Times are still showing on OPB, but I could be wrong. If they are, you might try recording them to watch together later.

Best of luck!

We used the book "Signing Smart with Babies and Toddlers" by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert. They have additional materials and information at www.signingsmart.com. By the time my daughter was 15 months old, she was communicating with over 100 signs. There are several things I liked about the Signing Smart system: Drs. Anthony and Lindert are experts in sign language AND child development; they use true ASL signs (not all systems do); they provide a number of ways to incorporate signs into playtime and everyday activities that are not contrived or "lesson-like"; and they focus on helping you recognize your child's first signs (just like kids say "ba-ba" for "bottle", their first signs can look very different from the "proper" sign form). I was very pleased with Signing Smart. I hope that whatever system you choose, you find signing as rewarding as we did!

The Signing Time videos are excellent...my son loved to watch them because of the other kids in the videos, and he picked it up with very little effort. He is now 4 1/2 and although he doesn't use signing regularly now that he can talk, he still remembers the signs. I have come across Signing Time on OPB as well...I think early in the mornings. Good luck...signing with your little one is fun, and so helpful in reducing frustration for both of you! Enjoy!!

R.

Talk with your pediatrician, call KidSpeak, Washington State School for the Deaf.

Does your child have a hearing/language problem? Being verbal about all your activities and surroundings provides a baby with the sounds and associations that build language skills. Sign language is a great second language, but I hope you plan on teaching them simultaneously unless there is a problem. Babies not talking, but using their cries and body language to communicate with us teaches us to be more intune with them, more empathetic and aware of our surroundings. These babies are great teachers, and the more we interact with them, the better students of life we become.

For starters, my daughter had over 50 signs in her vocabularly at 15 months, and just keeps learning more and more. We started signing with her between 5 and 6 months and will start sooner with our next, but it's never too late to start signing!

One of the best resources we've found is a book by Joseph Garcia called Sign with your Baby (http://www.sign2me.com/joseph.php)

Kindermusik also offers a baby sign class that we enjoyed quite a bit.

Signing Time DVD's, you can check these out from the library

Hi J.,
I have been a sign language interpreter for 9 years now, and I would have to say the "Signing Time" videos are a great place to start. They are geared toward children to watch and learn, but they are great for adults too. They are grouped in categories, which is great, like "farm things/animals", "colors" etc... becuase sign language is a visual language I always recommend watching videos rather than just looking at books. I know my local public library offers these DVDs to borrow, so check around. If you can't get these then really any video would be better than a book, but if it comes down to it, a book is better than nothing :)

I taught my daughter sign language and she had over 40 signs by the time she was two. I am fluent though, and signed to her all the time. But it cut way down on frustration and she could pretty much tell us whatever she wanted before she could speak. I recommend sign language with all babies.

I will recommend Signing Time as many before me. It is a really fun way to entice your child to learn signing. I used to sit my child in his seat to eat and let him watch the first few times without signing. Then I would ask him to sign the signs. It amazed me.

There is a website that you may be able to get it cheaper than the actual site for Signing Time. Please look at half.com and type in Signing Time, or any of the other suggestions that people have given you for books. I go there when I need reference books that would cost me $30-50 and I get them for $5-10 instead.

Hope you enjoy. If anything, borrow them from a friend or the library and try them out first. Your child and you will value these songs for years.

Best wishes,

Kim B.

www.signingtime.com The signing time videos are AMAZING! I cannot believe how much my family and my preschool class have learned from this series, and they are really fun to watch! Blessings to you and yours! :)

Hi J.. you can record "Signing Time" off the TV from PBS. It is a fantastic show that teaches sign language to children. My twins LOVED watching signing time when they were infants. we saved a bunch of episodes on our DVR and then we always had something to watch. and it was free.

When my son was 4-mo-old we got the Joseph G. "Sign with Your Baby" set, which includes a DVD or VHS tape that teaches you a bunch of basics for food, stop/go/more, things little babies need, diaper change, hot/cold.

(amazon.com link http://www.amazon.com/SIGN-your-BABY-How-Reference/dp/193...)

There is also a very helpful write-on laminated "cheat sheet" that shows about 100 signs that you can leave with a caregiver who might not be familiar with how to communicate with your little one, who will easily become used to sign and become frustrated with those who don't respond when they're "talking" to them. This was especially great for the grandparents who were only around about once a month b/c he would sign that he wanted something and they had no idea what he wanted. This was also helpful when he began to speak and could only be understood by Mom and Dad.

Finally there is a book that comes with it that tells you the fundamentals of the science of signing with your baby and where to go from there.

The Signing Times stuff that I've seen on TV, while it is really fun and will infect you, seems to be more for older kids. And if you don't have the rudiments of sign language, it'll take you longer to figure out those basics.

When my son was older, say 2/2.5, he wanted to know mores signs for things, so we actually went out and bought a sign dictionary so that we could teach him how to sign "engine," for example! It was a great way to introduce him to his first second language! :-)

Good luck! And don't be discouraged if it takes a while for your tike to respond to your dilligent signing; they are getting it, but sometimes it takes a while for them to give it back to you. Don't forget to speak the words as you sign them so that they learn the sounds of the words you're signing also.

Signing Time is hands down the best signing DVD resource.

You will adore signing time! I won't blab on as I see lots of others share my enthusiasim with the product.
You won't be disapointed, and mommy will learn just as much as Connor will :)

Signing Time is the BEST!! My daughter has been watching the DVD's since she was 9 months old and they have been such a blessing. Both my daughter and I are not furstrated because we can communicate. I beleive they have helped her to build a bigger vocabulary, speaking. I love they. You can get them from the library. They are awesome!

You can get the Signing Time videos from your library. I also recommend these two sites. They have a video signing dictionary.

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi

Good luck signing with your baby. We did with ours and the benefits of him being able to communicate with us at an early age were awesome. We had NO problems with tantrums or "terrible twos" because he just didn't have the frustration of not being able to communicate.

any of the My Baby Can Talk videos are great. We used them with my daughter and she picked up on the signs very quickly. Just check them out at the library, I would go online and put them on hold. There is also websites that have the American Sign Language signs. You can try http://www.handspeak.com/

Signing with your baby is wonderful! It is so helpful when they are still learning to talk and either they can't say the word or some words sound very similar.

Hope you find it as enjoyable as I did.

J., I borrowed the "Signing Time" series from the local library and they are amazing!(they used to be on TV) We had already started basic signs with my daughter when she was an infant so when she saw the videos the concept wasn't anything too foreign. There were times she even taught herself the signs by watching the video - the times when I couldn't be with her watching them. If you found you liked them via the library, you could always purchase them.
One suggestion - be sure whatever resource you use, it teaches REAL sign language, not made up stuff for babies. If you're going to teach them a 2nd language (which is in effect what you're doing) do it right. Then if they want to use that language with someone else, it will be transferable.

J.,

Check out this website: www.babysigns.com

I watched an amazing television program in March 2008 on the creators of this program work with infants -- the 3-7 month old children actually mimed what they wanted -- and could communicate/understand thru signing, which made it less frustrating for children/parents when it came to communicating wants/needs.

Peace

We started with Signing Time DVDs at a pretty young age, and were amazed when our daughter started signing to go to sleep with no prompting from us. Signing Time does have a younger version for babies, but we found the "First Signs" DVD to be a great place to start.

Signing Time - absolutely. Baby Signing Time is geared toward the non-walking set, while Signing Time is appropriate for preschool and younger.

I know there's two Baby Signing Time DVDs for sale in my local resale shop (Molalla OR)... 'cuz I put them there. My girls have "outgrown" Baby Signing Time. And yes, it's AMAZING!!!

Hi J.. I liked the book Signing With Your Baby by Joseph Garcia.

T.

I know many have recommended Signing Time- but I just had to chime in. Absolutely fabulous. I went to high school with the director/producer (big sister to Rachael and Alex's mom). Take a look at the web site and read the story about how Signing Time came in to being. They are amazing people! I know our public library has some Signing Time DVD's. I bought the entire collection. Good luck!

Signing Times videos and books are awesome.