Ever since I learned about baby signs in college,
I knew it was something I wanted to teach my children.
The concept is simple.
Babies can understand and communicate well before they can talk
Teaching them signs for common words gives them an outlet to communicate,
long before they have the ability to speak.
Research shows that there are lots of benefits.
It reduces tears, tantrums, and frustration
it makes learning to talk easier
boosts self-esteem and self-confidence
stimulates intellectual development
strengthens the parent-child bond
We started doing very basic signs with Beck when he was 6-7 months old.
milk, more, and all done.
I'll admit, early on, we weren't very consistent because
it felt like he had no awareness whatsoever of the signs.
But when we thought of it, we did it.
As he got a little older we introduced more and more signs.
I never did any "teaching sessions" with him where we practiced signs.
I simply did the sign when I said the word during our everyday life.
I also checked out Baby Signing Time and Signing Time movies from the library occasionally.
Beck LOVES those videos!
I'll admit, there were times when I thought he would never figure it out.
As he got older,
it felt like he understood the connection between the word and sign,
but there was no hint that he was interested in doing them himself.
A few weeks ago, just before he was 15 months
it CLICKED!
He saw the sippy cups at Target and he started signing milk!
That day he also signed more and eat.
Since then, he has learned many more.
all done/all gone, fish, cheerios, cheese, dog, and car
and each day he picks up more
all done/all gone, fish, cheerios, cheese, dog, and car
and each day he picks up more
We only have to show him a new sign once or twice and he gets it.
I can't even describe how proud it makes me!
It is SO rewarding to be able understand what Beck wants.
Yesterday, we got a few of his signs on video.
We had to prompt a little to catch it but normally he does them totally on his own.
Beck signing "more"
"baby" and "milk"
Beck signing "eat"
Beck signing "airplane"
I love the look of pride on his face when he does a sign!
I just love this boy more than anything and am so unbelievably proud of him!
4 comments:
baby signing time is a big hit at our house too! I love it and Brielle can communicate so many of her needs. I'm glad Beck loves it too! I will have to agree when they sign, I'm not sure there is anything cuter!! (only I don't love having those catchy songs in my head constantly, ha ha)
Oh yes, Baby Signing Time is Stella's favorite as well. While the tunes make me want to pull my hair out some days, it is amazing how much she picks up on it. We taught her like two signs ourselves and then she started watching the shows and can do pretty much every sign on them. We never practiced with her or anything, I would just say a word and suddenly she would be signing. They are just little sponges!
oh man! the second and fourth video didn't work for me. :(
Baby signs makes Beck happy, and his parents. It takes the guessing out when he can tell us why he is fussy. He sure is a smart kid!
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