My Plumber Analogy

Parents sometimes approach me with the question of why they need a baby sign language class, if the information is online and they can learn that way.

I'll be very honest, I do not market to the DIYers. Although I've had many DIYers in my classes and they love the results they get.

Let me explain it this way... 

We've discovered a leak underneath our sink. I cannot for the life of me fix a leak. I would have to hire a plumber who is trained and knows HOW to do the job effectively PLUS he has the right TOOLS. AND a plumber is NOT CHEAP, but I have a FINITE window of time to take care of this problem. 
Then I start to thinking, I'm a pretty smart woman. I could go online and google some articles/videos... but while I'm spending TIME doing this RESEARCH I'm missing out on valuable time playing with my baby, keeping the house in order and the process has taken a lot longer than I thought. Meanwhile I've wasted a lot of water, bought the wrong tool at the home improvement store and keep emptying the bucket of water as the sink continues to leak, creating more work for myself. Finally after a whole weekend lost to this plumbing issue, I call a plumber, he comes over and fixes the leak within just an hour. We celebrate by going out to dinner.... or rather because the dishes from the weekend are piled high in the sink!

I know HOW to sign and I know HOW to effectively teach babies.
PLUS I have all the right tools to make class educational and fun.
AND my classes are NOT CHEAP.
Your baby is little for a FINITE amount of time. 
I save parents TIME by having done the RESEARCH and packaging it up and delivering the nuggets they need to create hundreds, if not thousands, of conversations and moments of connectedness.

Yes, so in some ways, I'm sort of like the plumber. 

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

Signing and a Lock Down Drill

A little glimpse into the walls of the Sign4Baby household: 

Owen was just telling me yesterday how they did a "walk through" at school... he kept saying it over and over and was getting mad that I wasn't getting his pronounciation... I had him take a breath and think of other words to describe to me something else to help me understand. I didn't even mention to use a sign, and that is immediately what he used. He signed KEY to demonstrate LOCK... which he knew intuitively is the same without ever having been taught this. Then I got it. They practiced a LOCK DOWN. My heart sank and leapt at the same time. He could effectively tell me what he meant, yet the idea of a LOCK DOWN for a 4 year old with all his classmates and teacher huddled in the bathroom with the door locked pretending there was a bad guy outside and being super quiet... how scary is that?

This scenario has got me thinking about how signing may be an effective tool for teachers to have with their students in these drills though. Imagine how police and military units have hand signals to complete a mission. Kids this age have trouble staying quiet for any length of time, so this could at least give them a vehicle to communicate in a situation where they are have to be quiet and keep their mind occupied at the same time. 

Our children are growing up in far different times than we did.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

Ever wonder if signing with your baby is doing much for their brain?

If using gestures while teaching improves learning in kids, I'm going to make the leap and say baby sign language improves learning in babies.

Clapping is a gesture and clearly communicates something
Photo credit: Stills by Hill Photography

A recent study on teaching kids with the use of gestures could make a strong argument for why baby sign language is growing in popularity so rapidly! Check out what they said about that study over at BabyCenter.
 
I watch the babies and toddlers all the time in class and can see the attention span increase when I'm signing, and their responses are different to my just saying something versus asking a question. Every new piece of information is being processed by those marvelous little brains of theirs, and the more senses we invoke in the learning the better it sticks. Much like what I share in Signing Story Time is Nourishing Baby's Brain.

When teaching, I tend to use my hands even when I'm not signing. It seems to help me outline my points when I'm delivering information. I can emphasize a point I'm making. There's something innate about gesturing when we communicate, probably because innate that tells us the other person can better receive our message when we do so. What the study reveals is really no surprise to me. Friends of mine who grew up signing because they were also CODAs (Child of Deaf Adult) tended to be in the advanced classes or perform at the top of their class.

The take away here is that YOU ARE YOUR BABY'S FIRST TEACHER, and they understand way more than we give them credit for, so if children learn better from teachers who use gestures, every parent should be making the investment in signing with their baby and toddler to give them an extra tool for optimized learning.

What do  you think about the study on gestures improving learning?

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

Here monkey monkey monkey!

When Owen was about a year old we went to the San Diego Zoo with the Sign4Baby Playgroup and had so much fun checking out the Koalas and Kangaroos. Upon arrival there is a huge picture of a Gorilla that Owen immediately pointed out to me by signing and making the goofy gorilla sound (it sounds terribly close to his rendition of an owl). It was funny because he got more excited about the large picture of the Gorilla than seeing the other real animals on the tour we did. It occurred to me that he really enjoys this animal in particular and the only way I could know this is his telling me through sign! The one photographed here is a photo we saw when exiting, yes I know it is not HUGE but the other one was ; ) Our playgroup goes to the zoo once a month to participate in the San Diego Zoo's monthly meetup program.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

How I taught my daughter to sign MILK (Part 3)

It is one of my most exciting moments as a mom! The day Amberly signed for the first time. Like mama, her first sign was MILK. It is an easy sign to do for a baby as young as 2 months old (you should check out the story of Owen first signing MILK). After observing her great ability to watch and mimic with keen eyes I decided the day after Valentine's Day that I would have Amberly signing MILK by day's end. You'll want to check out the previous posts relating to this story to see exactly what I mean - Part 1 and Part 2.

We started off like most days, lounging in pjs and nursing on demand and at 4 1/2 months we made it sometimes 2 hours between feeds - she really enjoyed her milk! Each time Amberly showed the first signs of being hungry, I would talk to her about nursing and having MILK even more emphatically than before. This produced a smile, I knew even from this young age that her personality was budding and that she greatly valued being understood. I went to nurse her, after having signed MILK a decent number of times, 3-5.... but not making it take more than a minute to do so. You know how those hungry babies can get fiesty pretty quick if you don't provide the breast or bottle quickly enough!

What I did differently this day than previous days is I'd stop her a couple of times, you know, pop her off the boob and ask her while signing, "Are you having MILK?" If she was so hungry and disinterested in this game I didn't push it. Most times she thought this was fun. The proof? By mid day she came to expect me to pop her off the boob to have this conversation of sorts and she'd turn back to the breast but turn and steal a glance as if to say "go ahead, ask me if I'm having MILK" which was pretty cute. For those experienced mommies you know how that age comes where your baby is discovering the world around them and you cannot seem to get them to pay attention to nursing long enough to finish a feeding? Well, this game I created probably started Amberly on this track earlier because I was giving her a reason to stop, haha! New mommies, we donn't always know what we're doing, but so long as we're bonding and having fun with it, go with the flow! Side note: Later, with the boys I used the "not-a-new-mommy-knowledge" and signing to my advantage in those scenarios when the boys would stop nursing and look around, I signed MILK to get them focused back at the task at hand so we could finish up and continue to play after. 

Several of these feedings took place in my office sitting in front of the mirrored closet doors where I would sit Amberly up and point to my exposed breast, and ask her if she wanted MILK. Babies are social by nature, so I created a context of socializing with our favorite "baby in the mirror" to add to the experience. She would look at herself in the mirror, my reflection and then back at me. A few times when I interrupted her feeding, she'd turn to look for the baby in the mirror. Maybe to check if that baby also was having her feeding interrupted haha! 

At her 5 o' clock feeding, Amberly again pulled off the boob as I'd been doing intentionally all day, then before I could ask her if she was going to have more MILK she signed it! And with a huge smile to boot! The feeling of knowing how she could now identify this special activity was incredible. She continued to do this a few more times for emphasis. Babies LOVE to do that, being scientists and checking for understanding. Each time I confirmed for her "Yes, you're having MILK! Now you can show Mommy when you want MILK." Of course signing MILK each time I said it and she would repeat the sign. I was amazed. Seriously to know our babies are able to process and create associations and implement actions to communicate with full intention at just 4 months. I couldn't wait for Daddy to get home and share what we'd been up to all day.

As a new mom I thought this might be just the thing to make life a little easier because she could ask me for milk instead of grab at my boob or begin to fuss. The truth of the matter I don't think it was until Amberly was roughly 8 months old that she signed MILK in order to have it. Rather as their communication abilities develop, both verbal and non-verbal, the first thing babies will do is mimic, then they will sign in the context of the thing or activity, then when object permanance occurs, this is when they can ask for the item. Still it was fun to respond to her telling me "Mommy, I'm having MILK" essentially as she loved to do from that day forward 'til about 8 or 9 months. I could affirm her thoughts and have a conversation with her about her surroundings knowing that she was "getting it."

If you haven't checked out the previous posts in this series, please do. 


Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

The Real Magic of Baby Signing - a guest post

 The Real Magic of Baby Signing

A guest post by Kari


Kari is Mommy to Elodie, a rambunctious, joyful and goofy 2 year old. She loves to blog about her adventures in motherhood, drawing upon her experience as a preschool teacher. When she is not blogging, Kari can be found relaxing with a nice cup of tea, snuggling with Elodie or browsing Pinterest.

There are countless reasons to sign with your baby- and they are all good ones. We all want to help prevent tantrums and encourage cognitive and language development in our little ones.
Signing classes are fun and entertaining for baby, and allow parents to bond in classes as tiny tots begin their first friendships. I could go on and on and on...

But the real magic- in my opinion- was not in how it was useful, helpful or IQ-raising "baby sign language" was. Instead, I just liked being able to understand what my tiny infant daughter was thinking about.
Our first conversations were about the "light", "fans", and "shoes" at around 9 months old. It was not until she was over a year old that she used sign to ask for things she wanted or to tell me how she felt. (Though as a 2 year old, her signs are super helpful in understanding her budding speech.)

But I thought it was amazing! Elodie would notice small details around us that I had tuned out to. When I would catch her signing and respond to it, her face would light up. And I think that our special moments where she signed and I understood what she was trying to communicate to me further deepened our relationship.

Of course she was always dearly loved and attended to, but signing gave her a way to express herself and feel heard and validated at a very young age. I will always do my best to hear her out and respect her voice. Signing gave us a way to establish that foundation (that some parents and children never successfully forge) at a very, very early age.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

Baby Sign Language Works Wonders - guest post

Baby Sign Language Works Wonders

A guest post by Angela Quisumbing

Co-founder San Diego Mom’s Night Out 

My daughter just turned three years old and to this day people, strangers and family alike, always tell me how clearly she speaks. My mom always tells me that she talks like a mature little girl. My sister says she is a woman trapped in a little girl’s body! You get the idea. When people notice that Alana is very well spoken, I usually attribute it to three things, okay maybe four.

1        She has awesome parents ;)

2        The fact that we started reading to her when she was still in the womb

3        Subconsciously we did not talk baby talk to her

4        Baby sign language classes at six and 18 months with Sign4Baby

I always knew I wanted to teach my baby sign language. Personally, it was one language I wanted to know, but I also did some research and found that it is very helpful for babies to learn sign language to better communicate. I was surprised at how quickly Alana picked up. Her first signs were ‘dog’ and ‘milk’. It was so helpful, and not to mention amazing, to know that my little girl could communicate with me using her hands before she could even speak. Although she is talking non-stop now, she still occasionally uses her signs like ‘please’ when she really wants something. It literally blew my mind just learning how much children can retain when taught in a welcoming and loving environment.

My favorite is when she learned to sign ‘I love you,’ another sign she used often, especially when I would tell her “I love you” while nursing. Instead of getting off the boob, she would hold up her hand and sign to me that she loves me.

If anything, learning sign language is a great bonding experience for your entire family since as parents, we become our children’s first teachers.

Check out The Pinky Project to learn more about our adventures with baby sign language and Sign4Baby.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

When I thought it was SWEATER

One day recently driving Owen to school he asked me for what sounded to me like SWEATER. He doesn't have any sweaters so even though I knew the answer to this question I asked anyways, "You want your sweater?" I was driving so I couldn't even turn to look at him and see what he might be reaching for on the floor of the van. Owen persisted and said "I want my insert-unknown-item-here." I again asked if it was a sweater and knew my attempt to understand with the exact same follow up question was futile. When Owen started to get frustrated I explained to him that I was trying my best to hear his word but it was hard for me to understand, then asked him to say it again, believing I could strain my ears enough to make out his word.

Instead Owen surprised me and fell back to a tool that he extrapulated from our use of baby sign language. See, he had been effective at being his own interpreter in many situations before where I did not know his words and he instead fell back to the sign or went to point out the object or on occassion we went through a series of questions to determine what the item he desired was. He began to describe what the word was, "gold, pirates find it" and then I got it! He had been saying "I want my treasure." Not in a million years would I have guessed that treasure would sound like sweater coming out of his mouth, but it did, it sounded just like sweater from the mouth of a 3 year old. I had never shown Owen the sign for TREASURE, in fact, I don't know it myself. But we have used such a plethora of signs in our family that even when the kids don't know a sign for it, their brain has figured out that there is another way to get their poin across.

A preschool teacher once informed me that about 50% of what 3 year olds say is understood by the general population, and it varies with each child. Of course moms understand a great deal more of what their own child is saying, I call that the mommy ear. But, still there are plenty of times well past toddlerhood where a child is still expanding their vocabulary at a rapid pace and their ability to enunciate the word exactly is still just shy for us to understand them 100% of the time.

I had to laugh when I figured out that Owen wanted his treasure and again thanked my lucky stars for the fact that I was born a CODA, Child Of Deaf Adult, so that ASL was my first language and it was a no brainer that I would teach my children to sign as we are still experiencing the benefits of it even though Owen is 3 1/2 years old.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

These Words Sound Alike: Juice, Shoes, Zoo, Blue

Thank goodness for American Sign Language and the fact that it has given me the ability to give my children the ability to interpret their toddlerese into words I can comprehend.

Many parents of toddlers know that JUICE and SHOES are top of the list of favorite things. And it just so happens that the sound of J and the sound of S let alone SH are challenging for toddlers to make so those two words JUICE and SHOES sound an awful lot alike coming from the mouths of babes.

I'm not sure how many times over the course of parenting 3 little ones I thought my child had said juice and it was in fact shoes or vice versa, but it was a lot. Enough that I knew to share with parents in my classes that these are words to consider listening for and looking for and bother teaching their baby/toddler the signs for to avoid a common frustration in communication breakdown.

Sometimes it ends up being words that rhyme that sound alike (but not always), so as my toddlers vocabulary grew and ZOO and BLUE were added, those became words I would at times need to ask "Can you sign it?" Usually that was after they had said JUICE cup for example and I thought they were asking for the BLUE cup. Silly things like this result in tantrums in many households where they don't have a tool to navigate the words that are being misunderstood. Many times I could just pause and ask my children to "show me" what they wanted. In our household "show me" could either be 1) show me the sign OR 2) show me the item --- and then I'll show you the sign so we avoid future communication breakdowns.

Stay tuned for more stories of words that sounds alike coming from the mouths of babes ; )

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

7 ways we communicate non-verbally

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In the event that any parents are wondering whether signing is worthy of their time and effort (since there's already so much to learn on the parenting rollercoaster) here are a few examples of ways we already communicate non-verbally.

1. Waving: we wave hi and bye whether you're trying to teach your baby to sign or not.

2. Playing peek-a-boo: a favorite amongst babies as they learn object permanence.

3. Clapping hands: a way to cheer on our littles when they master a new skill, do something cute, or demonstrate understanding.

4. Pointing: trying to get something we want to showing someone "look."

5. Blowing kisses and giving hugs: expressions of our love without saying a word.

6. Making faces: sometimes your look says it all!

7. Dancing: one of the best expressions of oneself, especially uninhibited children.

Babies want to express themselves as much as we do. Signing gives them the ability to help us help them. It feels great to be understood, to have validation that we are "heard" and it is no different for babies. The look on their face when they see you understand them or when they get to interject in a conversation is worth all the energy, time and money you may spend on creating this early communication bond through baby sign language.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.