Signing saved the day!

I wanted to share this story with all of you because it shows how valuable signing can be even with preschoolers. My daughter recently started going to preschool two mornings a week. This experience is very new to her as she has never been to a drop off class before. She has adjusted quite well except there is one little boy in her class who keeps pinching her behind the teachers back. Fireese doesn’t want to be a tattle tail but it is really upsetting her and isn’t sure how to handle the situation. Every time we are at school I ask her to tell me who the boy is, as she doesn’t know his name, so I can make the teacher aware of the problem. However, there are always many kids and parents around in the morning that she is uncomfortable pointing him out to me. Finally, yesterday we were in the hall and Fireese turns to me and signs “mean boy red shirt”. I was SO proud of her for figuring out a comfortable way for her to let me know who the boy was. That way I was able to privately talk to the teacher and ask him to keep an eye on the child’s behavior. Fireese was also so proud of herself that she was able to figure out a way to let me know who it was without making a big scene. I love signing!!
Laura Berg, My Smart Hands, 'educating young minds' http://www.mysmarthands.com

Teaching "Please and Thank You" - are they ever too young for this?

When I first started to teach Baby Signing 5 years ago, I read somewhere that children don’t understand the concept of ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ – so its no point teaching them these words.

I’m sure most of you would agree that this is not quite true! Children as young as 10 month old can learn to sign ‘please’. OK, its arguable in what depth they actually understand the true meaning of the word – but is this not how we teach children : we constantly expose them to new things which they then become used to so that they will eventually learn the meaning!

This has made me think about other signs we may be teaching our little ones. Feelings such as ‘proud’, confused’ and ‘worried’ may seem out of a one year olds vocabulary range. I was pulled up on this by a Nursery manager when I showed them a clip of Laura Berg’s daughter Fireese sign along to a book about feelings. (Thanks Laura J)

I am not sure how deep Fireeses understanding of the word ‘Proud’ was at that time, but she saw a picture and made the connection with the word and the sign. This will undoubtedly help Fireese to broaden her vocabulary and to learn the meaning much sooner than a non-signing baby.

My point is : don’t be afraid to use some signs which you THINK your baby may be too young for. If the context and the situation is appropriate, use it! Never underestimate your child.

http://www.signingbabies.co.uk/

"Help, my daughter has stopped saying words and just signs now!!"

Today I heard about a 1 year old little girl, who had previously been able to say a few words, has recently stopped speaking and is just signing.
Physical deficits and lack of verbal stimulation were quickly ruled out. There were also no major traumatic events in her life at the time.

Of course what the other moms in the class thought was “OMG, what if the rumours are true and Signing DOES stop speech development? Does it make them lazy?”

Let me emphatically say ‘NO IT DOES NOT!’.
40 years of research has proven that Signing enhances verbal development. To my knowledge there has never been any evidence to suggest the contrary.

I have seen this a few times in my 5 year career as Baby Signing teacher. Around the age of 12-14 months, babies hit a major developmental milestone. Apart from the physical (starting to walk or pull themselves up), their understanding of the world also increases – and with it their vocabulary. Some babies go through a brief time where speech is put on the backburner while the information is processed – only to then burst out with a language explosion which surprises the parents! This is perfectly normal in the area of speech and language development and other areas of development as well.

My advice for those who are going through this experience is: Don’t stop Signing, carry on and make sure you always say the word. Be patient – and prepare to be amazed!

www.signingbabies.co.uk
www.sign2learn.co.uk

Signing and adopted children - Chloe's story

The case of a little girl called Chloe really brought home the benefits of Signing with adopted children. Chloe was 22 months when she was adopted from China.
She joined my Baby Signing classes a week after she arrived in the UK. There was very little body language between Chloe and her 'new mum' never mind any eye contact or signs of bonding. Both mum and daughter looked very unhappy.

The subject that day was ‘Food’. I had brought different types of food in to show the children and to teach the signs. Obviously, ‘Food’, ‘More’, and ‘Drink’ was also taught. When we finished, Chloe was sitting very close to me, pointing, and even smiling! When it was time for free play, she turned to her mum and asked her for food…biscuit…more…
The following week the difference was amazing! Chloe sat on her mums lap, held lovingly, there was eye contact, some smiles and even a kiss!

Several weeks later I had a letter from Emma. “Thank you for giving us the gift of Signing with Chloe. To be honest, before I came, I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life. The situation brought our family to breaking point. Now that we can communicate with her, everything has changed. Signing has saved my marriage and given me a bond with my beautiful daughter!” This was 1 year ago. Chloe has since integrated well into her Nursery and is communicating fluently -mostly in English but still using some signs occasionally.
www.signingbabies.co.uk