Sign4Baby

2 for 1 Registration through Cyber Monday 2011

2011-11-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

Be sure not to miss this deal!
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/2-for-1-Registration-Extended-thru-Cyber-Monday.html?soid=1102124699739&aid=FYHuWHTShxs

See what local bloggers have to say about my classe!

Tiny Green Elephants

Mommy to Elodie

The Pinky Project

Simmworks Family blog

Sondra Santos Drahos San Diego Parenting Examiner

Wordless Wednesday - Kyle's Halloween Costume came in the Mail

2011-09-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

My review of Celebrate the Sea at Kid Ventures

2011-08-31T23:32:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Sign4Baby just celebrated 4 years in business. Woot! Kid Ventures was generous enough to co-create an event celebrating that mark.

Over 65 people came out to take part in the fun we had lined up. I really couldn't count because there were so many!

I provided some entertainment with Signing Story Time, demonstrating the signs for various sea creatures. At the end of the story time we were greeted by a Pirate! He was a friendly pirate, though Owen wasn't sure he believed me... he wouldn't have anything to do with getting a picture taken with him. Which was too bad because when the KV crew brings a character to the party, they do it up right and I don't even have a photo to show you! As the treasure hunt began each family was given a beach bucket to collect their sea treasures. I've been to birthday parties where treasure hunts are done and the kids absolutely love it - this was no exception! Even the parents looked like they were having fun with it. At the end of the treasure hunt the kiddos gathered in the library to create a KV keepsake craft.

Kyle who is not typically interested in crafting was happily gluing and coloring this time. I have a feeling it has to do with there having been a true "activity" associated with the craft, not just crafting for its own sake.

Amberly on the other hand will craft all day if given the opportunity.

That's what great about the parties and special events here, they're going to be multi faceted, something to please everyone.

Can i just add in the feedback from our babysitter that was in attendance? She thought it was off the charts awesome because of how much there is to do here and how the themed rooms keep you busy for plenty of hours. Our sitter was puttiing our kids to bed that night - she was glad to have them play with such exuberence at Kid Ventures that day so they'd be out of steam come bed time.

Something that I learned at the event is that your day's play pass allows you in and out privelages which is nice because you can stretch that into both a morning and afternoon outing. How smart is that to plan your time for play and stretch that dollar further.

I wanted to pick something from the various rooms and activities that are a for sure favorite for Amberly, Kyle and Owen, but truth be known they love ALL of it! My personal favorites are the firetruck with firefighter gear to play dress up - right there that would be any little 3 or 4 year old's dream come true to be dressed like a hero with all their buddies pretending to put out a fire!

Dancinig is a fun expression and my kids are no strangers to bustin' a toddler move, breakdance style - so they always pull me into the disco room to have a family dance party, which I happily oblige!

Thank you Kid Ventures for partnering with Sign4Baby to host not only the Celebrate the Sea event, but for bringing Sign4Baby classes to your facilities this fall!

Announcement - first class at the PB location begins Friday Sept 2nd - so, you could say some babies are getting ready for Back to School too!

Wordless Wednesday - Amberly 21 months, Kyle 4 months

2011-08-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

Easy Giveaway Opportunity - Plum District Family Daily Deal Site

2011-08-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of daily deal sites out there, I should know, I subscribe to just about all of them, but I want you to become familiar with one in particular, Plum District. For families who want to learn about great values BOTH locally and nationwide, this is the go-to resource.

Why I'm sharing it with you today is there is an awesome giveaway going on that I'm hoping one of my readers will win - - -

One lucky person is going to win a prize of their choice from the daily deals offered by Plum District San Diego - it may as well be you! Simply browse their website and leave a comment on their wall of what you would most like to win. Me, I'd choose the 3 personal trainer sessions valued at $225. Ends Wednesday August 17th at 5pm PST- good luck!

Here's a sample of some of the cool deals you could choose from:

1. Got a shoe fetish? Sole Society would be for you! Value $50.

2. Want whiter teeth? Pick this Whitening Lightning deal valued at $478

3. Perhaps you've been dreaming about getting a personal trainer? Joy Dahlberg Dynamic Fitness is the way to go - valued at $225.

4. Want to learn how to take better pictures of your child? You'll enjoy the 3 Hour Photography Workshop valued at $200.

Plus there's a bunch more that you can browse through!

A quick note, you can enter the giveaway even if you are outside of San Diego as you can pick any of the "everywhere" deals.

***Full Disclosure - When you sign up to receive future daily deal email alerts using the links I've provided that specifically say Plum District will award me $5 in Plum Dollars, the great thing is you can refer friends too with your own link and earn future deals at an even better price when you redeem your Plum Dollars. I'm also being compensated for my time in sharing this fabulous giveaway, which makes sense, I'm a work at home mom who needs to provide for her family ; ) I've been successful in growing my Sign4Baby business using social media and enjoy connecting with people online so this was really a great opportunity.

The story of how I taught my daughter to sign MILK (Part TWO)

2011-08-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

A couple days passed since our “baby waving” incident and now it was Valentine’s Day. Upon leaving for work my husband rang the doorbell, leaving behind a beautiful arrangement of red roses. With excitement I was telling Amberly all about the flowers and how nice Daddy was to surprise us. With baby in one arm and vase in the other I displayed them on top of a wine cabinet that happened to be a spot we passed to enter and leave the home and was near the kitchen and also a spot we’d pass to get to the stairs leading up to the bedrooms where I’d put her down for naps. I explain all of this because it happened to give us lots of opportunities to pass by the flowers, each time I got myself something to eat (she was still exclusively nursing and she really liked to be held much of the day), each time we went outside for a walk or to check the mail, and when we went upstairs for her multiple naps in the day. It is widely known that babies are attracted to the color red, so it was no surprise to me that my daughter was transfixed on the red roses. Also, at that young age, she was becoming more aware of her environment and changes that came with it, as well as reading our expressions quite well. She’d been intrigued by my excitement over the flowers, she was furthermore intrigued by them – so much so that she was doing the typical thing that babies do, reaching out to grab at them. I knew right where one of those flowers would end up if I allowed her to grab one, it would go right to her mouth! Something transpired that day that was completely by happenstance. I taught my 4 month old how to “smell” a flower.

Each time Amberly reached out for the flowers I gently held her hand and showed her how we could enjoy the flowers by first leaning in towards them, second, closing our eyes, third, breathing in the scent through our noses, and fourth, giving a slight “aahhhhhh” in appreciation of the aroma. Each time I’d verbally tell her what we were doing as we progressed through each action. It was fun to see how captivated she was in this practice, how intently she watched what was going on, She never grew bored of it throughout the day even though I think we must have repeated it more than a dozen times. Then as evening rolled around Amberly surprised me by following along, leaning in, closing eyes, audibly breathing in through her nose and letting out a little sigh! I figured we were going to be at this practice all week (which of course we continued to do) and well into toddlerhood before seeing any resemblance of her understanding or demonstrating the act of smelling a flower. I couldn’t help but to be excited and she responded in like. When Daddy got home I attempted to have Amberly show him just how much she loved the flowers. Well, just like asking a baby who is newly waving to show off on demand, it is a little complicated. She didn’t quite get all of it but she got enough of it to show she really pays attention to what we’re doing. I told my husband I was going to have her signing milk the next day! Be sure to catch Part Three in the next post of “How I taught my daughter to sign MILK.”

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at Sign4Baby

The story of how I taught my daughter to sign MILK (Part One)

2011-08-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Amberly, and I were out for our regular afternoon walk and crossed paths with a neighbor friend and her baby. We stopped to chat for a few minutes; they needed to head home for lunch. As we departed my friend exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, how old is Amberly, again? When did she start waving?!” Her daughter was a few months older, had been born a preemie and had just started waving recently. She was a more experienced mom than I was and she had not asked if Amberly had waved but rather stated it as fact. I don’t know how I missed it; I was wearing her in a Baby Bjorn carrier, in front of me, facing out (this was back in early 2006 just before I made the great discovery of the much better ERGObaby carrier). Apparently she had raised her hand up just half way, and had done it as my friend said bye for the 3rd time, you know how it takes us moms a few times to wrap up a conversation. I replied “I don’t know, I haven’t seen her do it yet.” I was kind of excited though, this gave me the clue that she was beginning to mimic what she saw which is one of the tell tale signs your baby wants to communicate.

Babies love when people stop and say hi and bye to them. We use that little sing song voice (otherwise known as parentese), great big smile, and make it even more intriguing by giving a little wave… its great fun! Inherently people will repeat it, and repetition is another great way for babies to learn. Amazing how some of the universal things we do while interacting with children are precisely the things we need to do for optimum learning. In fact, the interaction of saying hi and bye is so entertaining and eventful that “hi” is a common first word amongst babies…. It is important to note that babies all have their own timeline for achieving milestones and one baby should not be compared to another. At the same token there are activities that entice babies to reach certain developmental milestones.

Case in point:

I love the story shared by Kelly, mom to Eleni and CJ, who has taken the Sign, Play & Learn classes with both kids a number of times. When her daughter Eleni was just 4 months old they visited and stayed with Grandma for a month. There's not a whole lot of "playing" that a baby this age can do. One thing Grandma found intrigued Eleni was hand clapping. Multiple times a day Grandma would entertain Eleni by clapping her (Grandma) hands and giving Eleni undivided attention. Well, guess what? By the end of the month-long visit Eleni was clapping her own hands! Not too many babies are clapping at just 4 or 5 months old. It was a matter of fun and repetition that enticed Eleni to participate in this game Grandma had devised.

Be sure to catch Part Two of “The story of how I taught my daughter to sign MILK" next week!

You don't have to read a book perfectly to enjoy!

2011-06-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

In the nearly 4 years I've been doing this (teaching workshops, classes, and performing signing story times) I get asked this question quite a bit... "How can I get my child to sit and look at me when I read and sign books at home?" So, for kicks and giggles I thought I'd have hubby document for you how reading a book goes in our home with our youngest reader.... You'll find that we do not go page by page, or line by line and there's a reason for that - my goal is to engage the kids in the book - talk about the things of interest to them. There are times where I've had a goal in mind as I'm sharing a story on YouTube (as we did recently with "Barnyard Dance" but that was the exception to the rule)

Here, Owen had come over as he does just about every day and handed me a book... usually it is one with dinosaurs or vehicles of some kind because those are his 2 passions in life as a 2 year old - isn't it for most little boys that are 2?? And, as much as my former OCD personality wants to creep back in and read the book from cover to cover, I've learned to let go and enjoy reading in the style that my little one wants at this tender age. If I were to force him to sit and listen to each page while in my lap he would probably deter from the daily ritual of bringing me a book to cuddle up and spend some quality time together. Reading is something our children tend to be on opposite ends of the spectrum when discerning how they feel about it - they love it or hate it - and I want my kids to love it the way I loved to read growing up. Signing is one way that I've learned to engage them and get them thinking about what's going on in the book and create a fun learning experience that is much more than me just "reading" aloud to them.

Shoot, I just realized that although we have the LIBRARY on our Summer Bucket List that we don't have "quiet reading time" on there or "read one book a day" but that's okey, as long as the kids are enjoying their reading and want to read we won't stick to any rigid rules like that - afterall we've been known to sit at the local book store and read 5 or 6 books to kill some time before the next adventure. Although the child development experts say 30 minutes a day of reading is what you want to aim for, looking at your time spent reading over the course of a week provides a more realistic measure.

If you can't make it to one of my signing story times, you'll want to get the tips I share in a previous blog post in Nourishing Baby's Brain for good story telling know-how. AND if I might implore you - share this blog with your friends - I've just got to have an audience to bother posting these 3 wonderful books in signing story time fashion:
1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
3. Good Night Moon

These will provide you with great resources to go back to and not only read with your child, but build your signing vocabulary at the touch of a button... now that's service!

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at Sign4Baby

Now I'll never get to see the Oprah Show live....

2011-05-18T23:54:00.000-07:00

In the 7th grade I was tested for GATE and one of the questions was "What public figure do you admire and why?" My answer was Oprah Winfrey, I think we still referred to her by both first and last names back then. She reaches people on a level that no other talk show host can, she inspires with real ideas to take action, she has empathy like nobody else does, it is all over her face, right? This award came MUCH later but the quote from her acceptance speech of the Bob Hope Humanitarian award in 2002 at the Emmy's sums up why I admire her:

We all just want to know that we matter..... The greatest pain in life is to be invisible. What I've learned is that we all just want to be heard. And I thank all the people who continue to let me hear your stories, and by sharing your stories, you let other people see themselves and for a moment, glimpse the power to change and the power to triumph. Read the entire speech here.

On May 25th, we will gather together to watch Oprah's last episode on the big screens in the beautiful bay front ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Mission Bay. Grab your girlfriends and come together to laugh and cry as we experience the end of an era. Enjoy the fabulous vendors in the marketplace where you will be pampered, transformed and entertained! You don't want to miss all of the special treats you will enjoy at the largest viewing party in San Diego for Oprah's last episode!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Oprah Show Viewing at 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION:

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina

1441 Quivira Road
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
San Diego, CA 92109

Speaking of friends....Oprah always includes Gayle so you should bring your BFF too! In fact, we have a BFF special savings!

GET YOUR TICKETS:

$25.00 per person

$40.00 for you & your BFF! (savings of $10)

There will be a $3 processing fee.

I'm very excited to have my VERY FIRST BLOG GIVEAWAY! Yes, you could actually win a pair of tickets to this coveted viewing party!

How To Enter: Simply comment below about a memorable Oprah moment

Everyone has one shot at this giveaway - if you want to double your chances then have your BFF follow my blog and enter and if your BFF wins they'd better be takin' you!

I'm quite certain by the end of this contest we'll have the 50 followers needed for me to get those videos shared here of me signing 3 classic children's books. Another good reason to share this giveaway with your friends, right?

Winners announced Sunday May 22!

Consignment is the New Nordy's

2011-04-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I'm serious. I overhear moms all the time now talking about how they scored a great deal on a gently used Easter dress or found someone with the same cute shoe habit for their little girl. In the past economy (let me emphasize past, because truly it is behind us - home prices went up 11% last month) we all learned how to stretch our dollars and that learning is going to stick with us. If you have yet to hit up the biggest and best consignment sale by Trunk Treasures you could be missing out - on some serious cash!

I once bought Kyle this awesome Hurley tshirt with cool studded pocket jeans on consignment. I never would have paid regular price for this awesome outfit that fit his personality to the tee. Every time I dressed him in that 18 month outfit I would smile with pride at how little it had cost me and how friggin' cute it was on him!

That is why I want you to know about Trunk Treasures whether you're there to shop or sell. This event is so big it is a 6 day affair. How's that for serious bargain shopping? View the entire schedule here. What's great for you is the registration for consignors has been extended to this Friday April 29 and there's an especially great bonus - consignors get to attend the presale which means you get first dibs! This is where to look to determine if you have stuff worthy of being in this high end consignment sale. A freind of mine was telling me she knows moms who have made $600 by unloading all their childrens outgrown clothes and toys. Imagine what kind of summer fun you can have with that kind of cash! Go ahead, I'll bet it will take you less than an hour to go through your drawers and closets to gather up what you don't use anymore but is in great condition and ready to be loved by the next family.

Now, I know a lot of us moms are great about passing stuff on to our friends, that's all fine and dandy, but believe me no one is going to be bitter if you decide reselling is the best way to help you pay for the next full year of clothing - and by the way all things that do not sell and are not picked up by consignors on the last day are donated to charity - so you're still helping others!

If you have young ones, this is a great lesson in money management to teach them. Remember lessons are best taught by example rather than by words.

New Consignors Registration Be sure to tell Stacy that Sign4Baby sent you ; ) Enjoy saving and selling!

Owen signing spider

2011-04-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

When I saw the spider I had just opened the screen door and it was Right in front of my face... what's the first thing I did? Go grab the video camera - or iPhone rather ; )

You can probably understand Owen saying a variation of bug/spider in the background at the beginning. The funny thing was we turned it into a signing experience - he was doing his little "dance/sing" which I understood him to want to talk about the spider in his most familiar context "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" pardon the mommy singing... I know I do not have a melodious voice... however what I know more importantly is that Owen does not mind one bit.

Soon I shall add another video demonstrating the signs for Itsy Bitsy Spider using ASL instead of the gestures we all learned growing up.

Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Natural Baby Pros Interviews me for Practicioner Spotlight

2011-02-26T23:40:00.000-08:00

1. What is your relationship to fertility, pregnancy, birth, and/or mommy/baby care, and how does your work relate to it?

I educate parents on how to effectively communicate with their baby using baby sign language, or as I like to say help parents "Discover what your baby is thinking!" Simply learning the signs to teach your baby is not enough because as most of us are aware, adults and babies learn differently and my role is to advise and coach both in our fun learning environment.

2. What inspired you to do the work you do?

While I took a leave of absence in my daughter's first year of life I would gather with our playgroup and I'd share with the other moms how to sign with their babies. Upon returning to my corporate job, I was pregnant again. Everyone joked that I had left this way... and asked if I'd planned to have another so soon because I was known as quite the planner. My response to that is that greater plans were laid out for me, wink.

Amberly was 17 months old when Kyle was born, and it was a rocky start. With a short 2 months to bond with him and exhausting all "eligible leave" on the books I struggled with the out of balance feeling daily. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression, and did not know enough about how to find holistic alternatives to the medicine that was prescribed. I was at a loss for resources when I told my doctor I did not want to take the medicine and little else was offered.

Driving to work one day I called my husband crying. He told me not to go to work, call them and resign and go home. I'd never done that before, quit a job without having another lined up, that sounded scary. I went to work then came home, had a long discussion with my husband where he encouraged me to do some soul searching and not work for a paycheck but to do work that fulfilled me.... and probably then it would be less painful to leave the kids behind.

In my soul searching I had two main ideas, create a baby shower gift basket company or teach baby sign language. I'd been approached by moms about creating gift basket as the gifts I chose were things that really helpful them, you know the kind, gripe water, teething tablets, Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block or Dr. Sear's The Baby Book. What drew me to decide on teaching baby sign language was the long lasting impact I could make on people's lives.

So often I attribute my inspiration to start Sign4Baby came from my children, and in part that is true, but the push to be inspired came from my husband Cory... and the fact that he is still a partner in the juggling act of being a work at home mom is pretty incredible.

3. What is the most important thing a pregnant woman or a woman trying to conceive should know about her body, giving birth, and caring for herself and her baby, based on your personal and professional experience?

Trust your instincts and realize that planning is great, but sometimes plans change and to be open to that. I hope to be able to share my birth story in the future, but one thing I tell moms that helped me achieve a natural birth was not being rigid in the plan. That sense of "flow" (even though parts are chaotic at times) is really needed and occurs when you're open to it. I'm laughing now because I'm thinking of Disney's Special Agent Oso "It's all part of the plan... more or less!"

4. What is your biggest obstacle in supporting pregnant or trying-to-conceive women and/or babies?

Oh, there's a whole list of challenges, but I'm learning to see obstacles as a way to create a solution. As a new business owner it was getting the word out to moms about the service I offered, I knew that if enough moms just knew what it was I offered and how much their day to day life would be altered from my education that they'd be seeking my services instead of me seeking families to serve. That's why I keep saying I wished Natural Baby Pros existed earlier, not just for families to find my service, but for the resources I so desperately needed with all my questions pertaining to health. Overall, creating awareness on your own is time consuming, which is why I so value word of mouth referrals... and as you can see they are abundant now.

5. Tell me your best success story.

Easy. I was still pregnant with Owen and my due date was was just a few weeks away. An email came through for a private in home lesson with a little girl about 16 months old, Grace. She is blind. Mom was at a loss for how to reduce everyone's frustration, especially at snack and meal time and she sought my services. At first I was unsure if I should take this client as I didn't have a specialization in helping families with special needs. I'd read something about doubt and procrastination stemming from fear, and decided I would at least try to help this family, that the worst case scenario is that they ask for a refund and I'd have donated my time in researching this scenario and I could in fact learn a lot from it.

Shortly after I arrived and we'd reviewed only a few signs with mom and caregiver it was apparent Grace was hungry. Because this was the area they were experiencing the most frustration it was great for me to observe and help, which is a key factor in the one-on-one private lesson. Grace's frustration was greater than what most of us moms experience with picky eaters. Even without words, a toddler who can see is able to point and identify what they would like when options are presented. I stepped in and showed Grace the signs for all the foods that were on her high chair tray. After a few tries at this the frustration diminished and Grace was showing us the signs for all her favorite snack foods! Snack time was over and we observed a happy playful Grace exploring the living room. I'd been there less than 20 minutes and Julie announced "It's already worth every penny I paid you!" By the time I left Grace had shown us 5 signs, and her family was armed with lots of useful scenarios in which to practice their signs. Not only did Julie continue on to bring Grace to a 6 week class with me, when Grace's little sister was ready for a class, Julie hosted a few of my classes at her home.

I took a risk, did a little extra work, believed in myself, and what do you know... it paid off!

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at Sign4Baby

See Natural Baby Pros

She Teaches Babies to Talk with their Hands

2011-02-25T18:53:00.000-08:00
share

Signing Story Time is Nourishing Baby's Brain

2011-02-08T13:30:00.000-08:00

How many times have you heard that children are like sponges, soaking up all that’s around them? You’ve probably also heard that you should read to your children daily. Twenty minutes a day is like exercise for the brain. It makes sense, we want to enhance their language acquisition, provide them with tools for learning, give them a head start in school, and all the other things that go hand in hand with having a healthy well adjusted, love-to-learn kid. Did you know you can make an even bigger impact during story time by signing words from the story to your child? It’s true. While babies and toddlers may not recognize words or letters on paper, they can easily identify the symbolic sign for various objects and activities.

Research is showing that signing in the classroom is making learning to read easier. If we can engage a child in more than one of the learning styles, they experience greater success in learning. The left side of the brain is the language center, while the right side of the brain is visual based. When parents speak as they sign, both sides of the brain are activated to learn. (Marilyn Daniels – Dancing with Words)

A good story time program will engage the audience using all four main learning styles; visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. Visual learners will enjoy both illustrations and photograph images in books, felt boards or puppets to help tell a story, and signing key words to talk about the book. Not only is signing a visual language, it promotes eye contact and draws a longer attention span. Auditory learners enjoy music, singing and chanting and benefit from the inflection and tone of the story teller’s voice. Speaking the words you sign with your baby are just as important as the words you read aloud from a book, it is building an auditory association to the sound and symbol. Kinesthetic learners love participatory story times where they are invited to clap hands, get up to dance, or bring a toy that corresponds to the theme of the story time. Signing is not only using the hands, a lot of facial expression and body language are incorporated to fully convey a message. Tactile learners love the ability to participate in telling the story with sign language. Finger plays such as “Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” have been made popular with gestures that children like to mimic.

The following tips can be applied to reading and signing, coupled together you’ll feed your baby’s hungry brain.

READING
1. Repetition. Children benefit from reading the same book again and again as they become familiar with sequencing, they love being able to predict what comes next in the story and being correct.
2. Establish a routine. Reading a book before bed or naptime is a great way for a baby to wind down.
3. Make it fun. If your toddler wants to flip through the pages quickly to find their favorite page, go ahead and spend time talking about what interests them most.
4. Encourage participation. Pointing, page turning, and talking about the book, not just the written words are all great ways for a baby to begin the lifelong love of reading.
5. Be creative. When you find new ways to tell the same story it not only keeps your child engaged, it keeps you engaged as well.

SIGNING
1. Repetition. Signing a word over and over again helps a baby pick up the meaning of the sign, much the way we repeat words when using parantese with babies (the high pitched sing song repetition of words caregivers use when speaking to babies).
2. Establish a routine. Once you’ve begun signing in the context of reading books, or any other situation, continue to do so and your child will pick the signs up quickly.
3. Make it fun. Try signing when you’re laughing and playing, your baby takes note of what you’re doing and is encouraged to chime in.
4. Encourage participation. Asking your baby to show you the sign is great practice to build up to initiating conversation.
5. Be creative. A novel game is one of the greatest signing opportunities. One of our favorites is This Little Piggy, signing pig each time you wiggle each little toe, and of course making a great pig snort or squeal!

Take the traditional well known preschool finger plays a step farther and learn the signs for words that are important to your child, Soon your child will have the building blocks for literacy and the confidence necessary to further describe their thoughts and feelings.

This article was originally submitted and published in My Hometown Feb 2011 pg 21.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at sign4baby

Do I Really Need a Class to Learn How to Sign with my Baby?

2010-12-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

In short, no. I certainly didn't need a class to begin signing with Amberly, but I have an advantage over most people, I signed since infancy.... it is indeed MY first language. There are a lot of resources out there where people can learn the signs themselves AND plenty of those resources are FREE. Why am I telling you this if the basis of my business is to enroll families in my classes? Well, I even share some of these online resources with parents in my classes. I'm a firm believer in having an abundance of information from which to draw. It is human nature to learn in a social environment. Most people who buy exercise equipment for their private use at home eventually slack off, one reason why gyms are so popular, why Stroller Strides and Mommy & Me Yoga classes are popular with new moms. When you have a weekly commitment to show up and participate you will gain more than just what you signed up for - "baby sign language know how"

1. A reason to get out of the house

2. Meeting new people to connect with

3. Insight on parenting dos and don'ts

4. Live coaching where learning is fluid

5. Answers to your questions from ME

6. Answers to your questions from PEERS

7. Your baby gets socialization

8. Safe environment to practice

9. No accidental tv babysitting

10. Desire to expand your ASL knowledge and vocabulary

Rather than paraphrase what Allison Wardrip says about enrolling in a Sign, Play & Learn class, I'll just share it here verbatim:

My daughter and I recently met Joann at a baby sign story time at our local library. After a fun and informative story time, I learned that Joann was starting a new 6-week series of baby sign classes in our area. My husband and I decided to take the baby sign classes, although we debated about whether or not the classes would be beneficial. We already had a baby signs book that we were using with our daughter. In addition, I had some experience with basic sign language in my previous career in early intervention for children with developmental delays, particularly Autism. The children I worked with (ages 3 and under), usually had difficulty using verbal language to communicate; therefore, we often introduced basic signs to help them communicate (i.e. eat, drink, all done). Through my work with these children, I saw the usefulness of sign language; most of the children successfully learned how to use sign to communicate their basic desires. So, utilizing my previous work experience and our baby signs book, we began introducing some signs to our daughter when she started eating solid foods (around 6 mos), such as eat, more, and all done, as well as labeling some of the foods she was eating. We continued to do this during mealtimes for several months, but she didn’t seem to be picking up the signs and wouldn’t use them to communicate with us. When she was 11 months, we started the baby sign classes and learned the importance of introducing signs of interest to our baby during fun, teachable moments. For example, our daughter loves music, so we switched to using the ASL signs while singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and, sure enough, not a week went by after our first sign class and our daughter started doing the sign for spider on her own! My husband and I are so glad we went ahead with the sign classes! We have enjoyed the interactive, kid-friendly, fun, and informative atmosphere of the baby sign classes (much more beneficial than just referencing a baby signs book!)! In addition to learning the essential baby signs, we also get a lot of helpful tips and tricks regarding child development in general that Joann intersperses throughout the classes. The best part is that we can tell our daughter is already benefiting from the sign classes! Since we’ve learned to capitalize on her interests, she has already started to pick up new signs, the most recent being “friend.” We know our daughter can understand a lot more than she can verbalize to us and we’re excited to continue to give her a means to communicate with us through signing as her verbal language is developing.

I guess I can relate to a mom feeling like she can do it on her own. As a new mommy I didn't want someone else spoiling my experience of "being the ONE" who showed my daughter how to do things, afterall I'd taken time away from my employment to get to enjoy all those experiences with her and bond with her. I did not understand what all the moms around me were doing taking their baby to Stroller Strides or Swim Lessons... after not having any success with teaching our kids to swim on our own, we enrolled in an 8 week class with A Splashing Success and after that class I finally had the confidence I needed to take my kids to the pool, the safety instruction, the little tips and songs we used, the consistency of doing what we learned over and over again in a social environment... all of it played a role in Amberly learning how to swim this summer!

We pick up little things on the peripheal when we are surrounded by others trying to attain the same goal. I am reminded of what Eve Moran once said to me about her business... if we didn't all live within our own four walls and still had community living the way it used to be mothers wouldn't have a reason to seek out lactation support, they'd have a whole network of family and friends that were familiar enough and could help. Signing with babies is becoming so popular that in the next 5 years I'm certain that it will be the normal thing for a baby to use sign language and not the unique experience that only a fraction of parents embark on. I look forward to seeing that result, as children who sign are more self aware and this leads to a great impact for our society, but that shall be saved for a future blog post.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at sign4baby

You Can and Should Begin Signing with Your Baby from Birth

2010-10-19T12:07:00.001-07:00
Many of the written resources on the topic of baby sign language available to new moms advise waiting until their baby is between 6 and 9 months old to begin teaching them to sign. This information is outdated and does not take into account that communication is in large part receptive comprehension. Parents who are deaf and have hearing or deaf children do not wait to begin signing to their babies, my mom signed with me since birth and I thought it made sense to do the same with my first child for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to be in practice of something that I valued (to bond with her) and knew that visual cues were easier for babies to decipher than verbal ones. Two, I thought it would be far easier to get my husband to be in practice of signing if it was just the regualr normal thing we did from the beginning, like breastfeeding, not like we were adding in a new quirky thing when she got a little older. Three, newborns make far more eye contact and respond to our motherese/parentese talk, which is the perfect place to demonstrate signs for a newborn. Motherese speak is something we do inherently, nobody has to teach it to us. A stranger on the street when they glance at a baby and make eye contact cannot help themself but to use the softer sweeter voice that is music to a baby's ear along with the higher pitch and repetition of words. Our genes are designed to bond with babies in this way. Four, infants will gaze at the human face for longer periods than they will gaze at any other object, and in signing our facial expression is a key part to expressing a sign, so why not make use of this natural gaze and be in communication with signs, expression, and voice? Five, once your baby gets to be mobile, your world changes, and trying to grab their attention is not so easy, there is a finite amount of time where your baby just wants to look at you, it is their time for bonding, and signing is a great bonding practice. Six, in the beginning parents are learning to sign first, then showing their baby, so these early days give you a chance to practice plenty, which will make it easier to mesh into your regular daily activiites!

My firstborn proved to take to signing like a duck takes to water, she began signing MILK at 4 months old. She was a sensitive baby or what I learned from Dr. Sears, a high needs baby, one who really had a desire to tell me what she felt and thought, she still fulfills on that trait today! She would relax a little in the carseat next to me in the backseat when I would sing and sign the ABC's... She clearly understood when I signed MILK to her and would turn to nurse, she had been paying attention to all those people waving, as people love to do to new babies, and first showed a resemblance of a wave to our friend at about 4 months old, which got me thinking to really be diligent in practicing the sign for MILK with her, and in one day we conquered the goal of giving her a clear way to communicate about her world, even if it was just one simple word, a pretty important one for infants, though! My second child was more laid back, had less of a "need" to tell me as much. Even though he didn't sign until 7 months old, he would respond positively to signs I used with him, i.e. MILK, he'd get into nursing position at just a couple months old and when I signed BATH to him when he began crawling at 5 1/2 months old, he went right for the stairs where we always went up to take a bath! I knew he was understanding me so we were at least on our way. Then with my third, he surprised me by signing MILK at just 2 months old. this is the age when babies tend to practice opening and closing their hands naturally anyway, but he would only do it after I'd sign MILK to him, he'd learned a specific reason to use this natural baby motion in just a short time. And yes, I have witnesses to this occurring on a number of occassions.

Here is a little clip with the signs we found useful in the beginning... the earlier the better, but you're never too late to start!

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at sign4baby

Get into the Pumpkin Spirit

2010-10-16T12:05:00.000-07:00
Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday, only behind Christmas... probably because it is centered around children and children know how to have fun! Amberly's Kindergarten class went on a field trip to Bates Nut Farm yesterday and she returned with a great big pumpkin. Owen had been signing something yesterday during the day while it was just the two of us at home. Only today did it click for me what he was signing.... he'd been shown the sign for PUMPKIN just a once or twice, but had been hearing about Amberly's field trip coming up for at least a week. During the day when Amberly and Kyle are at school, Owen will sometimes stop and wonder about them and announce their names as if to confirm that they are still in the place where we left them that morning. Today as we were playing with the pumpkin on the floor Owen signed and said pumpkin (in his own toddler fashion) and immediately I knew what he had been trying to talk to me about yesterday! He'd wondered if Amberly was going to the Pumpkin Patch as he'd heard several times. This morning I did not show him the sign but once to see if he wanted me to bring it down from the counter to look at it. Children are able to retain information that is of value to them, and in this case Owen was very interested in knowing what his sister was up to yesterday. Remember as you are showing your child new signs, it may not be something they start using right away, but when they are ready to talk about it because it has value to them, they will surprise you with the sign, and you may have forgotten you even showed it to them! Enjoy this little clip of Owen playing with the PUMPKIN and practicing his sign.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (discipline) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at sign4baby

Winner of Leading Moms in Business! Press Release

2010-10-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

StartupNation.com Honors Nation’s Leading Moms in Business

Sign4Baby Wins Top Honors in Mom Business Competition

San Diego, CA – October 11, 2010– From among thousands of contestants, Sign4Baby has been ranked 149 in StartupNation.com’s 2010 Leading Moms in Business competition (www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business), sponsored by Infusionsoft (www.infusionsoft.com).
Over 709,000 votes were cast in support of the 2010 contestants, reflecting immense interest and supportiveness for moms building businesses at the same time they tend to their families.
“There’s been a sea change among moms as they’ve come to realize that adding entrepreneurship to their lives brings exhilaration and immense gratification, not to mention supplemental—sometimes primary—income to their families in these dicey economic times,” says Rich Sloan, chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation.
“This award comes because of the devoted support of clients and other mommy businesses that support what Sign4Baby does for families. That support, I believe, comes because of the difference made in their experience communicating with their baby/toddler, providing them with ideas and teachable moments in the rollercoaster ride toddlerhood brings.” The winner’s profile for Sign4Baby can be found at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-usiness/contestant/8802/index.php
The 2010 Leading Moms in Business ranking, conducted in collaboration with Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com) and The National Association for Moms in Business (www.mibn.org), highlights some of the dominant trends, motivations and attributes among moms in business. They include:
• A great eye for providing attractive discounts, coupons, savings and value, all especially important to consumer moms of the recession era.
• A likelihood to come up with innovative products and solutions to address the challenging maze of motherhood. It’s an environment that demands resourcefulness.
• Conscience-driven business, where “doing well” is just fine, but the real rush comes from doing good.
• The attraction of being your own boss looms large for moms wanting to take control they just can’t find in a day job.
• Sustainable solutions and responsible business practices are increasingly paramount.
• Making the most of social media for business benefit is seemingly a birthright for the socially adept moms.
The full results of the 2010 Leading Moms in Business ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-in-business.
###
About StartupNation
StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually. StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks such as Start Your Own Mom Business (www.startupnation.com/mom-business), award-winning step-by-step advice, and more.

StartupNation co-founders, Rich Sloan and Jeff Sloan, are two of the country’s leading small business experts. The Sloan brothers speak frequently at entrepreneurial forums and recently hosted a Public Television special helping people transform their passions into business opportunities. They are authors of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday. The Sloan brothers are regularly quoted and featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.

About Infusionsoft
Infusionsoft, the leader in marketing automation software for growing small businesses, empowers entrepreneurs to grow smarter and faster through targeted marketing that automatically adapts to prospect and customer behavior. Infusionsoft is the first to combine email marketing and CRM in one app that's driven by a powerful automation engine. The privately held, three-time Inc. 500 company is based in Gilbert, Ariz. and is funded by Mohr Davidow Ventures and vSpring Capital. For more information, visit www.infusionsoft.com.

#########
For more information, press only:
For StartupNation, contact Rich Sloan via email at rich at StartupNation dot com or by phone at 248-430-1002.

For Sign4Baby, contact Joann Woolley at info@sign4baby.com or 619-339-0517.

Pointing Is Far More Important Than You Might Think

2010-10-10T11:08:00.000-07:00
Parents often wonder what their baby is thinking... I rarely have that question enter my mind as I've put my first language of ASL to use in teaching my babies to sign in order to convey what they are thinking, not just what they want or need. Being an interpreter as a young child for my mom, who is deaf, helped me see how to read what underlying messages are being conveyed via body language, facial expression, and tone (whether that tone be silent or audible).

In the beginning I did what a lot of parents do which is focus on some of the signs that would be useful for me to know when my baby was hungry, needed a diaper change, wanted milk, or some other need addressed. What I quickly learned was that she had almost no interest in paying attention to those signs, as she could communicate them to me pretty easily, showing some frustration whether by crying or that very recognizable baby moan or whine. What often accompanies that moan or whine is the pointing at an object, as if to say "I want that".

Having a "high needs" baby I was determined that my baby had things to express to me and set out to fill her request for vocabulary with things that were of great interest to her. After she learned to sign MILK at 4 1/2 months old, her second sign was DUCK! It was quite by accident that I saw she was excited by seeing all these yellow ducks as part of her bathroom decor and I began making the duck sign along with the quacking that made her laugh. It only took a couple days before she was signing DUCK back to me! A light bulb went off for both of us! She was 6 months when she learned her second sign and at her first birthday had 50 signs to communicate her thoughts and her wants.

It was easy to see what things Amberly wanted to know the sign for, whenever she pointed at things or brought them to me I'd provide the sign for her and create a conversation around the object, signing several times. Soon I learned that when she was pointing at something she was not expecting to obtain it, but rather just using a practice that had worked so well... telling me she wanted to know how to sign it so she could talk about it! Think about a time you've seen a baby point out an airplane flying overhead. We don't assume that they want us to pluck it out of the sky to give it to them, rather we know innately that the baby wants to show us the thing that has caught their attention, wants to talk about this amazing thing that flies high above and makes a fun sound to boot!

We know the work of children to be play... so next time you are playing with your baby, be aware of those moments when your baby is enthused and pointing at something of interest. Perhaps they do not actually want the object. Instead what they are saying is "what is this called?" or "can you tell me more about it?" or "what do you think of this?" and of course what I teach in the Sign, Play & Learn classes "can you give me the sign for this, so I can refer to it later?" Pointing only takes a baby so far in communicating, they've got ideas to convey about things that are not present just as adults do. Signing parents report regularly that their child will stop what they are doing, look up and sign DOG for example, perhaps thinking about the dog they encountered on the morning stroll around the neighborhood. Simply amazing to see the wheels turning in a baby's mind at the young age of 10 months and allowing them the opportunity to initiate conversation.

There is a great correlation between how many signs your baby learns and how well they acquire verbal words, and hence build that budding brain's love of learning. If there is a positive outcome in being able to communicate their thoughts of course they are eager to learn more! Take your baby beyond pointing and give them a tool that will leave you both speechless.

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (disciple) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at www.sign4baby.com

Signing Is As Easy As Creating Powerful Associations

2010-09-27T21:52:00.000-07:00
Do you recall holdinig your 2 month old newborn in the cradle position getting ready to nurse? Your baby recognizes the position already and turns their head eagerly awaiting to be fed. It is amazing how quickly babies will pick up things that are either of great importance or incredibly fascinating. This is just one of the first associations your baby learns. That is why the sign for MILK and the sign for FAN are popular first signs of parents in the Sign, Play & Learn classes. When there is a balance in the signs being amusing and useful a baby will pick up the meaning of the sign much more readily. We played "the light game" in class today and my super star signing Collin signed light for the first time in class! His mom reported that he had often pointed at the light, but this was his first time signing it! Try this game at home and you'll at least grab your baby's attention... turn the light on and off, baby will be looking at you wondering what is going on, demonstrate the sign for LIGHT just as you've turned it on. Repeat this and feel free to count to three before turning the light on again so your baby builds another great toddler connection... "that when mommy or daddy count, something is bound to happen at that magic number". If you get very excited about the light coming back on while you are signing LIGHT, your baby is going to mirror not only your excitement but eventually the sign you are associating with this experience. Many babies will reach out to the light switch by 9 months old because they've observed that something really neat happens when someone flips the switch and they want to try it. Go ahead and let them! This will engage your baby even more, creating a greater tactile experience and propel them to learn the sign you are demonstrating again and again. Learning the sign for LIGHT was a great signing catalyst for Kyle when he was about 9 or 10 months old... every day for a week after he learned the sign for LIGHT he was learning a new sign. Very much looking forward to next Monday's class at Java Mama to find out how Collin springboards from this new sign and powerful association. Looking for more fun ideas on how to engage your baby while you show them more signing vocabulary? Check out the class schedule at www.sign4baby.com/schedule.asp. Stay in the loop with conversations about signing via the Facebook page too!

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their preverbal 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 toolbelt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching (disciple) tool for toddlers. View the schedule of classes at www.sign4baby.com

Nothing is cuter than your 17 month old signing Thank You

2010-08-16T22:19:00.000-07:00
On Saturday we visited The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum. To finish up our tour we let each of the kids pick out one item priced under $7 from the gift shop to take home. Owen was having a hard time being, well, not a toddler, he was making quite a ruckus of excitement and wanting to climb the shelves in that teeny tiny story so we had to exit and have Dad choose a toy on his behalf. Thank goodness he's not a little bit bigger where this poses a problem where he would have absolutely wanted to pick it out on his own (that time is coming soon!). Instead when Dad handed Owen the white space shuttle after getting into our car to leave, Owen took it in his little chubby hand and immediately took his other little chubby hand open up to his mouth and signed THANK YOU. It was one of those very adorable moments where you know something you've taught them over the past week with prompting now has settled into their mind and has meaning. He was truly grateful for this new toy, afterall airplanes and anything that flies are one of his favorite topics.

Today when I picked the kids up from a play date, Owen turned to give back a toy he was playing with and signed THANK YOU to his friend. I love that he is able to show appreciation through signing even if he does not yet have the words.

Sign4Baby Tip: Practice signing thank you in your family regularly in order to show baby what the value and meaning are. Refrain from requiring your baby/toddler to sign/say thank you until they have the cognitive ability to appreciate. Child development experts say this milestone is usually reached by age 2, though in my experience, signing babies have such a great grasp on language that they can understand and use the sign on their own somewhere between 15-18 months.

For more great tips and stories and to learn how to "discover what your baby is thinking" enroll in an upcoming class at www.sign4baby.com.

Transition Time

2010-07-25T23:43:00.000-07:00
It seems that in our house time is marked by one transitions soon followed by another. Owen is approaching the 18 month mark and I'm beginning to feel the impact of night time nursing. Perfect timing that I came across an old post that I actually believe never made it to the blog but I'm too tired to go search the archives! Maybe I saved it on the computer to later work on as an article idea... who knows... but the timing is perfect, a good reminder that I need to use signs to help me through this transition.

The time has come that Kyle, at 18 months will be weaned from his pleasant co-sleeping with mom and dad. It is a sensitive transition. Having attempted a couple of times to place him back in the crib after nursing in the middle of the night, he'd wake up, point towards the door and sign "night-night", which I took to his not being ready for the separation and took straight to bed for restful slumber. Now after midnight nursing he is at times left unsatisfied and asks for water. I recall that being a factor that helped me night wean Amberly from the breast. It seems that for both my kids the sippy cup has taken on the role of a lovey item, some have a bear, some have a special blanket, my kids choose sippy cups... go figure. With the communication that can take place between us I can at least feel comfortable in knowing I'm meeting the needs of my children while making changes to their sleeping circumstances. Detecting the right time to make these transitions is not easy, especially when your beliefs are that these practices help build the bond between parent and child. I found it critical to our timing that each child be able to comprehend the change that was taking place and how else could I know if they didn't have such great communication skills? It wasn't even a thought out plan, "let's teach our kids to sign so that when we're attempting to shift from breast milk to cow's milk and our bed to separate bed it will be easier on everyone." If only we were so brilliant as parents, Cory and I! Rather it is the observation of trial and error and knowing what worked for us that I am imparting to you. Children need a very tangible way to understand change, and verbal words do not always give a child the complete picture, however signing bridges the gap. Take this analogy if you will... babies' first books are picture books that give them a sense of what the story in words is portraying, we would never expect a very young child to be given a book with no pictures and have the slightest understanding of it. Signing is an image for a child that helps families evaluate changes that can otherwise prove to be more challenging.

Has signing with your baby proved to be useful for you in the least expected situation? I'd love to hear from you , and other parents learn from those who have walked before them, so send an email to info@sign4baby.com .

By the way, I'm a big advocate of Dr. Sears and have been on a mission to have them update their list of 7 Baby B's of Attachment Parenting to include "baby sign language". Send an email to the Sears family of pediatricians in support of this notion if you agree. Be sure to cc me in the email!

Somebody asked me, What's your Pet Peeve?

2010-07-04T13:22:00.000-07:00
As babies become toddlers they know more of what they want and their stretch for independence is exerted. Often this time is trying on both the parent and the child.

A really big pet peeve of mine is when I hear a mom reply to her frustrated 1 year old in angst, "What is it, what do you want!?" Now, I've been guilty of doing the same thing when my toddler grabs at my leg and I'm doing the dishes and really just want to finish up those last 3 items so the kitchen looks semi clean for once. But, when I'm sitting enjoying play time with the kids, I've not had to feel this angst in trying to figure out what toy or object my baby is after or needs help with because I know more often than not they will be able to tell me, by using the sign for the item. And sometimes it turns out to be the darnedest thing, like a shoe that made its way into the playroom and is stuck behind the toy box.

When we have encountered these moments, far and few between, of not understanding our 1 year old's attempt at communicating, we've been able to use it as a teaching moment, demonstrating the sign so next time my dear daughter wanted the spinning top out of the drawer I wouldn't be at a loss. And more often than not, my 1 year old has been able to find a way to work their way through telling me what they want even without the actual sign because of their foundation in sign language.

I guess why it is a pet peeve of mine to hear the angst from a mom in this situation is that I have the tools to help them and they just haven't utilized my resources.

When Owen first signed MILK

2010-05-24T15:38:00.000-07:00
When Amberly was first signing milk at 4 1/2 months I didn't know that was amazingly early to be signing, let alone mom or dad even using signs with her. Now Owen has set the bar even higher; he began signing milk at 8 weeks! How is this possible you might ask? Starting from day one and taking advantage of repetition of the many feedings a newborn needs helps quite a bit. Dad would also sign milk just before giving the bottle, both of us sure to sign it just before feeding. Ever notice that your baby quickly learned that when you put them in the cradle position that they knew milk would be coming right after and they would open their mouth in anticipation? Babies can make associations super early; even mimic facial expressions very early. We would take advantage of this with all of our babies and play the stick your tongue out game, which a baby will imitate you at birth. Notice babies will also raise their eyebrows relatively soon after beginning to smile when imitating your questioning voice. Most babies will begin opening and closing their fist for practice of grasping at about 7 to 8 weeks... and since that is the close resemblance to signing milk, it is a perfect opportunity to give praise of baby signing, even if by coincidence while nursing or feeding from a bottle. At approximately 5 weeks I knew for certain that Owen recognized the sign for milk as his facial expression would change, he would get more eager to push down into the cradle position and he'd kick out his legs. Then at 7 weeks when he began regularly opening and closing his fists I would tap his hand while he nursed and say "that's milk". So after a few days of this I noticed he appeared to sign milk right after I had signed it to offer him to nurse.... but even I, mother to 3, didn't know if I was sure of what I'd seen. Then Wednesday the 15th of April we were at a play date and Owen appeared hungry. My friend Tressa stopped mid sentence and asked, "Did he just sign milk, I think I just saw an 8 week old sign milk!?" in amazement. I explained to her what I'd been witnessing over the last several days, a total of about 4 times and she said it was clear that Owen had looked at what I was signing and responded in like. Now that I had another eye witness I relayed the story to my husband and he said he thought he'd seen Owen do it the day before just before having the bottle. With 3 adults having separate accounts of Owen signing I no longer had any doubt or thought I might just be too proud of my little smarty. I'd forgotten my own philosophy that babies are born smart, they just need the right stimuli to encourage use of their brain for optimum growth and learning. Some other signs that Owen enjoys us using right now are "bless you" and "gas" (you know how much little ones can toot and sometimes even get caught off gaurd). If you didn't start from birth, by no means is it too late, babies have things to say, we have a tool to bridge that gap of understanding them, and my classes not only teach the signs but also show you how to demonstrate them to your baby and when certain signs are age appropriate. My San Diego readers can check the calendar for classes near you at www.sign4baby.com.

It's Official, Owen's Favorite Sign for Sure....

2010-05-22T09:17:00.000-07:00
We treated ourselves to McDonald's for dinner last night, (okay, it was more like I didn't plan anything for dinner and was getting home from my class at 6pm, but the kids saw it as a treat) and Owen immediately spots the Shrek cut out board and tells me in sign "Gorilla" while doing his best gorilla noise. It takes me a second to identify what he is talking about and when I put it together I tell him I can see how he might think Shrek looks kinda like a gorilla. Next, he goes on to point out the dog in the picture. Nope, there's no dog. I don't know the donkey character's name, but that's who he was referring to. Now I know another good signing opportunity. Last night would not have been a good opportunity because I had money in one hand, Owen in the other and two other kids to keep from bickering while waiting to place our order. Amberly, however, took the queue and started telling Owen that a donkey says "HEEE-HAAAW" with an exaggeration that made me proud (for those of you that take my classes, you know I love to draw out the animal sounds and make it sound as authentic as possible). Owen paid her no mind really because he was still intrigued by the green gorilla, I mean, Shrek.

This morning I was searching through the on demand kids movies on Starz and when the picture came up for Monsters Inc. Owen signed "gorilla" again! He has identified a certain look of a character that is not an animal to most closely resemble a gorilla. I get it! This signing thing really shows me how each of my childrens' minds work, it is as if I get to see the wheels spinning in their mind. Baby Sign Language, I LOVE IT! So, I'm busy showing him MONSTER and he looks at me with that questioning look and signs gorilla again. It will take a few demonstrations and good signing opportunities to present themself, but he'll get it. The reason why to demonstrate as many signs as you know to your baby at this age? So they don't beat you to the punch and categorize an object themselves and you have to re-work their thinking. This often happens with babies making up their own signs and then it is harder for us to figure out what the sign means. I'm just glad Owen likes gorillas so much and saw the resemblence and I could put it altogether to know what he was talking about. Pretty soon though he'll be signing for things out of context as he becomes more conversational and the object is not actually present. He's got at least a hundred signs, but for the conversational milestone that is just around the corner I need to keep up on his quick learning curve!

Do you want to go OUTSIDE?

2010-05-08T01:10:00.000-07:00
These days I have to be careful about saying OUTSIDE or BYE-BYE unless I'm actually prepared to leave, otherwsie Owen goes straight to the gate and looks at me with anticipation. Then when I am finally ready to open the gate that gaurds the stairs he goes all the way to the bottom, picks up his shoes and hands them to me! Today was the first time he did that whole sequence and I stopped and smiled at what a smartie he is. Previously he would hand me anyone's shoes, but today he got his own shoes and sat patiently so I could put them on his chubby little feet. Maybe he did this so well because we had t-ball practice yesterday and he was plopped in the car without shoes and nobody bothered to grab them, so he ran around the crunchy dry grass field with bare feet. This experience made an impact on him, I had to tell him several times that he couldn't go to the playground because he had no SHOES, that we had forgot them at HOME, signing both shoes and home to drive the point. Well, it worked, he doesn't want us to forget to cover his little feet again!

Toddlers are amazing, they soak it all up so fast and still I'm amazed at how signing prooves to me how smart they are time and time again!

Ever feel like you're going batty in your house? A common problem for the stay at home mom, a problem I still encounter regularly. And your kids are no differend. The challenge is there is plenty of work to get done around the house, and the kids simply need to let off some steam. Take it from me, the dilema is best solved by having a routine of getting out early in the day, then again after nap, even if just for 20 minutes.... now to follow my own advice!

I'm on a mission!

2010-05-02T16:11:00.000-07:00
My kids love to "go on a mission" with Dad when he has an errand to run. So, I'm going to adopt that philosophy of loving a mission to get things accomplished. Today there was a 5k/fun run at Lake Murray to benefit the Lake Murray Playground Project and I so badly wanted to go but sometimes things just don't work out. Now I'm going to make it up to the kids for not participating and get 100% behind the effort to earn the $50,000 grant prize offered by Pepsi Refresh Project. I'm asking everyone I know in person and on line to vote for this project... so be ready for regular reminders because all the votes make a difference. Building community is important to me, playgrounds are awesome for building community since they give families a place to have birthday parties, meet with playgroups, have sporting events, get fresh air, keep kids active and prevent obesity, develope gross motor skills and I'm sure the list could grow to 100 reasons if I took the time to sit down and list them all! However, it is more important to me to get this blog done, send it out, share the info on what you can do to make a difference in supporting this community effort. Vote now! And vote every day through the month of May : ) http://www.refresheverything.com/lakemurrayplaygroundproject

The See 'N Say Toy by Mattel

2010-04-23T13:18:00.000-07:00
Hands down one of the best toys for a one year old is the See 'n Say by Mattel. Heck, Amberly is 4 and enjoys it now and then with Owen! Right now Owen's sign for HORSE and COW look exactly the same so I'm glad he makes the moooooooooo sound. He knows the difference because if I ask him to point out the cow he gets it correct most of the time. Now that Owen is able to manipulate the handle readily he is so excited that he doesn't wait for it to finish and pulls the handle again and again. In case you have this toy at home I wanted to be sure you are using it in conjunction with your signing.... and if you don't have this toy at home, I highly recommend it, it lets you off the hook from making all the animal sounds.

Hullabaloo was a hit as usual!

2010-04-16T13:40:00.000-07:00
We've been making it to the Hullabaloo concert at Kennsington Library 3 months in a row now and it is always fun! Today I saw some moms I haven't seen in awhile and new babies joining our playgroup too. I kinda snuck up to the front when Owen wasn't paying attention because I love to sign "Little Bird" but then he got sad and came looking for me. Every time he went down the slide he clapped for himself and looked around to see who else would cheer him on. When his two top teeth first came through and it looked like he might have a gap I was bummed, but now I think it makes his smile that much more contagious. He'd sorta lay at the end of the slide with the sun in his eye and have this incredible squinty grin like he'd rather be doing nothing else. What is sweeter than that?

Owen played "what's that animal?" with me today

2010-04-14T16:08:00.000-07:00
No adorable pictures to go with this one (but be sure to check out the Gorilla picture from the previous post). We were sitting in the playroom and I was picking up toys (as usual), and Owen brings over his Melilssa & Doug boxes that have all sorts of animal pictures on them and begins pointing at ones he does not know the sign for, specifically skipping the ones he already knows the signs for which I thought was awesome because he clearly knows how to ask for vocabulary now. For those of you who have yet to reach this milestone with your baby, it is an incredible jump in the words your child will begin signing when they are basically asking you for the signs. His favorite today was ZEBRA which he demonstrated pretty well with the stripes part of the sign (skipping the horse part) and he just kept doing it over and over again as if to say "Look mom, now I can talk to you about this cool animal!" Need help with the sign? You can find it on www.lifeprint.com and scroll through Z and Bill gives you a little explanation about the sign as well, that's why I love this particular resource when I need to recall a sign.
A big thank you to Luana for those adorable animal boxes that make for a fun new game with Owen!

Here monkey monkey monkey!

2010-04-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Recently we went to the San Diego Zoo with our Sign4Baby Playgroup, it was so fun to see the Koalas and Kangaroos. Upon arrival Owen spotted a huge picture of a Gorilla and was telling me all about it (plus giving me the gorilla sound which sounds curiously glose to his rendition of an owl). Through our tour I thought it interesting that Owen was not nearly as excited by the other living moving animals as he was the picture of the Gorilla that he could not stop showing me. Then it occurred to me that he knew how to express himself and engage in conversation for Gorilla and thus could show me how much he enjoyed it, he just did not yet have exposure to these other animals or their signs for that matter to be able to have a like of them yet. All of my kids have loved the Eric Carle book "From Head to Toe" and we go on and on about the gorilla on the cover who thumps his chest (that is the actual sign for Gorilla ; ) and they LOVE IT! When we were exiting Owen did not skip a beat in pointing out this picture above. Yes, it is not HUGE, it is a different picture than the one he spotted earlier and I had more time to grab the camera. At times I wish a videographer could follow us around and capture these fun moments when he was going crazy for GORILLAS! Our next zoo outing is Monday May 31st and being a holiday I am sure it will fill up so rsvp early. www.meetup.com/sign4baby-playgroup

Reminding myself that COMPREHENSION of signs is communication too!

2009-12-16T14:31:00.000-08:00
Yesterday baby Owen took his first step, he seemed to forget I had let go of him, then collapsed. That is how it starts right? Much the same way goes signing with your baby! The common phrase "baby steps" afterall is named this for a reason. As smart as Owen is and as laid back a baby he has proven to be, he is not taking to signing in the same manner as his older siblings. This is not a disappointment (except I'd love to have some pictures of tons of signing to share) I remind myself because I am confident in meeting his needs when he appears to be unhappy. Of course at 10 months old many a momma will tell you their baby doesn't need a sign for MILK, they simply nuzzle mom's breast! Owen is doing just that and the exception came a few weeks ago when I was laying down on the couch suffering from mastitis (of all things!) and Owen cruised along the couch and looked at me loudly grunting with the very purposeful clenching of fist for MILK. Sure enough he was hungry! Babies will use signs when they find them most useful. This was a wonderful display of a baby being in tune with his mama, knowing she might not otherwise respond unless the need was clear, and that it was!
I've documented (mentally) 4 specific signs Owen has used, MILK, MUSIC, ALL DONE, and POTTY. This seems like a teeny tiny vocabulary when looking back at the other two's larger signing vocabulary at this approximate age (10 months) but he understands about 4 times more signs which actually provides us with great opportunity to fulfill his needs/wants. I can sign WATER and know from his reaction it is what he wants very easily rather than guessing. We tend to think of communication as being the ability to convey something, however the comprehension or listening is a big deal in the communication equation. Even for someone who has done it twice before I still have the natural tendancy to want my baby to pick up the pace and use what I'm showing him... "all in good time" meaning when it is relevant to your baby, they will demonstrate the signs.

Something else I'm pretty excited about is reaching 100 fans on FACEBOOK! However in my attempt to send a thank you message to those 100 fans FB send me a spamming warning. My apologies if you have yet to receive your message, I appreciate each and every fan! As Sign4Baby continues to grow, more babies are growing happy in being understood.

Holly is the woman behind http://www.workathomewoman.com and providing a great opportunity in advertising to other mom owned businesses on the web. Check it out and if you've ever thought about starting a business, she's got resources galore. I've met many a mom who has started her own gig after becoming a mommy and it is the fastest growing group of small businesses. Moms want to be available to their families more than a traditional job allows, yet either our lifestyles require additional income, or moms just feel more than ever the need to share what they've discovered. I think it is because most of them have been to college compared to say 20 or 30 years ago and the desire and know-how to get into business is there. Perhaps you've got the know how on 90% of it and want to find out what you don't know, cuz it is what you don't know that you don't know that causes the headache. Research as much as you can on The Work at Home Woman and find out what you don't know.

Cheers and Happy Signing!

Baby Einstein's "My First Signs" DVD

2009-11-05T14:57:00.000-08:00
Owen is starting to actually enjoy watching a video from time to time now. Previously he just enjoyed the company of his sister and brother in the playroom while they watched their favorite program. We borrowed My First Signs by Baby Einstein from our good friend Jessica (sorry Jessica we have had it so long!) and while Kyle napped and Amberly was off with Dad doing big girl stuff, Owen and I watched the video together. It was really neat to have him turn his head back to look at me as I said and signed the words after they appeared on the television screen. Babies have the most amazing expressions of new understanding and letting you know it is "clicking" in their little mind. All of my kids have been big fans of the Baby Einstein dvd series and I'm really sad about the frivilous threat of lawsuit that had Disney offer the money back. Curious about details on this, simply check their website www.babyeinstein.com and find out all about it on their homepage. Some of the signs I demonstrate with Owen when we're doing this activity are MOVIE or CATERPILLAR. We are big fans of interacting with the kids while a program is on, and though not always feasible, it can be turned into a learning opportunity!

Music to my Ears... or Eyes!

2009-10-29T00:49:00.000-07:00
Music is one of the first signs Kyle demonstrated and Owen chose to make it his second sign today! Okay, yesterday, since it is now past midnight. At the completion of class at Bears, Buddies & Toys, Jade and her mommy wanted to hear the "Brand New Day" song from the Pick Me Up album since they came into class a bit late. I had Owen in arms and was talking about liking that music when Owen picked up on what I was about to do, he didn't just flap his arms in excitement as I've seen him do when the music is ON, but moved his hand side to side after I demonstrated MUSIC for Jade! Yay! I will never tire of "catching" these first signs of babies. It is enlightening to see what they value, how they interact differently when they have words, and the constant lightbulb moments stored in your memory. Owen has been smart enough to have other people around to witness these little signing milestones, showing off for mommy in class is a good thing Boo-boos!

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

2009-10-17T07:59:00.000-07:00
For a good while Owen would exclaim his excitement by patting his hands on his legs. I'd show him from time to time how I'd clap my hands and draw out the experience, while he looked at me curiously. The other day I notice as I handed him another snack that he transferred a food from one hand to the other in order to better reach was I was giving him.... then yesterday he began clapping! Yay! We were about to see the pediatrician and were in the waiting room of all places. I love when your baby acheives a new milestone right before the doctor's eyes. Somehow it is as if they want to show off and say "Look what I can do!" He clapped a bunch for us all day yesterday. Today Amberly is trying to engage him in a clapping game, she solely wants to see him clap and he is onto her, it in not genuine clapping that she is presenting so he is holding out. Darn SMART little babies! Just another indicator that Owen will begin his signing explosion soon. Did your child have one particular sign they did that was a catalyst for signing to takeoff? I'd love to hear abou it. Go to the Sign4Baby fan page on Facebook and leave a message on the wall! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Sign4Baby/119900714676?ref=ts

Key milestones related to baby getting ready to sign

2009-10-07T22:35:00.000-07:00
For the past week or so I've been saying that Owen is getting ready to begin his signing journey. He has just begun to reach his arms up to be picked up and will hand an item to me with curiousness written all over his face, as if to ask "what is this?" He reaches in to give me a kiss on the mouth very purposefully, by the way I can't get enough of those wet baby kisses! And he looks at me and almost expects me to sign whenever I have a glass of water in hand while I'm holding him and he eagerly wants a sip, or if he happens to spy some apple slices on the counter. WATER and APPLE are two of his favorites that I've shown him lately. I constantly say that Owen is a very easy, happy baby, but even with the happiest of babies they all have upsets at some point. Owen does not enjoy long car rides or being stopped at a red light (what baby does right?) And he gives me that incessant baby whimper that is not really a cry, but the sound to just let me know he is bothered. Today I used this as a great signing opportunity as I distracted him with Gerber veggie sticks to keep him happy and signed EAT. I could see the newfound receptive look to this sign finally!

Kids say the cutest things.... the other day Amberly wanted help looking for something, she said "Mom, peel your eyes."

Early communication creates great memories

2009-09-23T13:12:00.000-07:00
It is said that once a child has language they can recall memories. Amberly prooved this to me time and time again but my favorite story is when she was cared for by my dear friend overnight when I went into labor with Kyle. I'd spent a couple weeks preparing Amberly for her first time being away from mommy overnight. She did really well and that is in large part to the great care she received from my friend and being able to spend time with her best friend, Téa. At times I would ask Amberly if she remembered when she spent the night at Téa's house and she would recount for me some of the things they did. She'd had a bath and slept in the downstairs room and she woke up before Téa and sat in her friend's highchair for breakfast. Some of these details I knew firsthand, some of the other details were her own recollection of the event. I was surprised at how much she could fill in the gaps being that she was only 17 months old when baby Kyle was born and she has recounted some things to me about this event as much as 2 years later! True, the event was her identifying with the birth of her baby brother and that plays a part in her ability to recall so much. However her vocabulary was enormous and primarily she signed when I did not get her verbal words. Having language very early (sign language) has given us both precious moments of lifelong memories.

Here is a little deal I posted on Craigslist today, don't miss out!

Wouldn't you LOVE it if your baby could initiate conversation with you? Of course! At just 10 months old, my babies could convey a complete message like "Mama, hear airplane outside!" and "Eat cracker". I have so many heartwarming interacive memories of signing with my children before they could speak. The signs always came in handy at the most unexpected times too, like when my son was really ill and signed NAP to me because I was busy keeping his sister entertained and forgot that a sick baby tends to need more naps, not more jostling around to settle his fussiness. You can have this experience with your baby as well. Sign4Baby has been teaching Sign, Play & Learn classes coupled with the principles of Attachment Parenting and providing great parenting tips from experience as a mother of 3, plethora of knowledge passed on by my Doula, and several semesters of psychology and child development classes. The NapTime special is this: Take advantage of a 2 for 1 special by inviting your mommy friend with her baby to join you and your baby in a Sign, Play & Learn class. Simple mention 2 for 1 in your registration and your friend can complete the enrollment sheet on the first day of class. Regualr price is $100, but you'll be able to split that with your friend and both gain tools and information hard to put a price on after you begin building your own stories of priceless communication with your little one. Register at www.sign4baby.com today! This offer only good through Sept 30th Want to read more stories about babies who sign and what their parents expressed? Follow this link http://www.sign4baby.com/success.asp

Keeping my Family in San Diego

2009-09-21T17:11:00.001-07:00
The Subject Line of the email may have caught your attention and caused you to want to know what it was about.

San Diego is the ideal place to me to raise my family. I have discovered what I love to do; helping families transform crying situations into eye opening communication.

However, I cannot sustain a business only for the sake of changing the baby-parent interaction. After two years (with a down economy) of telling my husband that I can pull off the Work At Home Mom situation, a deadline approaches our family in making some decisions.

I need to have 8 clients enroll in classes by September 30th. One of the popular locations for my classes is Java Mama and their location is shutting down while transitioning to a new spot. While I'm excited about the new place offering more and being bigger, this leaves my marketing window even smaller.

If you have been considering taking a Sign, Play & Learn class, ever wanted to know if my programs were a good fit, have an old coupon you want to redeem, this is the time to do it! There are still a lot of options on the calendar, even with the temporary delay of starting again at Java Mama.

Interested in hosting a class with your playgroup? I'd love to arrange something with you. Email me at info@sign4baby.com.

Carter and his Signs

2009-09-17T01:16:00.000-07:00
Wendy sends me the greatest messages about Carter's progress with signing and I love reading them. I hope you do too!

"Do you know the song on Pick Me Up that says 'I'm talking on the telephone to my mommy....' Well, it makes Carter cry hysterically EVERY time. I think he heard it a few times with Rob and I wasn't there, but even now it makes him cry when I am home. I went to put in a load of laundry and heard him crying...he was wandering down the hall signing mommy and pointing to the CD player. So heartbreaking! But cute! Hope you are all well!Next time we see you I have to remember to have Carter show you his sign for watermelon. He likes it so much that its turned into this wild hip swiveling, arm swinging sign. Very cute!Yay for signing!"

"Carter loves watching Hullabaloos abc song...he fingerspells (tries) for a while when its slow, then just leans forward and stares until the end when he signs 'sing with me' and then does a little happy dance! It is so funny to watch. Can't get it on video because he freezes when I bring the camera out. Oh and you should see him spell 'tofu' and ask for more 'topoo'. So cute!"

"I just wanted to tell you that Rob left for Virginia for 2 weeks and when my mom was talking about him to Carter, Carter kept signing something she didn't understand. When I got home, she told me and we asked Carter what he was signing, and he signed 'papa work'. Awesome! Also, we have now added 'green' to our signs which is nice because everything was 'blue' and 'not blue' for a really long time! I'm still shocked at his signing!We were listening to Hullabaloo and he clapped his hands, and signed SONG and SWEET for the everybody clap your hands....cause when you do it sounds so sweet part! Just wanted to brag to his awesome teacher!"

Thanks Wendy for such fun stories!

Nostalgic Summer ending

2009-09-13T19:55:00.000-07:00
Our family enjoys going to the Coronado Conerts on Sunday evenings through the whole summer. Tonight was our last one now that fall has arrived and I'll be missing the warm evening air, the dancing, the potlucks, and the kids exerting all their energy before bedtime.

Music is a beautiful way for people to connect. Babies are inherently musical which is why we play them lullabys and most of us dance with our kids. It is a perfect way to combine signing into a daily routine as well. By no means do you have to know all the signs for a song, just a couple will do, or simply sign MUSIC before turning the tunes on and moving all around.

We could all use more music in our lives. I was joking with someone yesterday that I might enjoy cleaning the house if I turned on some music. Remembering to start these new practices is the real work. Similar to starting to sign with your baby. Today, start listening to more music and sign this one great word as a way of connecting with your baby, not just in the time you spend dancing around, but in building the bridge that gaps communication. http://www.lifeprint.com/

2009-09-02T16:06:00.000-07:00
Just the other day Amberly showed me a picture she had drawn and described what it was. Mind you, she is not quite 4 and she can at times create a good scribble of a picture that is clear only to her. "Mom, look it's a ring" I hear her say. She gets disgruntled, "No, a wing!" I do not quite hear what she is trying to pronounce still, but kneel down so I can give her my full attention, baby in arm, "Honey, tell me again what it is." I would hate to have 3 wrong attempts cuz by then she gives up. Lucky for me, she knows I often ask her the question "do you have a sign for it?" and without my prompting she showed me her version of SWING and I then could make out more readily the picture she had drawn.

Many preschool children have a hard time pronouncing S's and F's at the beginning of a word. This is most commonly the problem when I don't understand Amberly. Otherwise she talks very well, grammar and pronounciation, and asks questions about new words or uses of words she has never heard before. She is great at language, but still I have to slow down to better understand her when S or F is involved. I know that if she did not have a sign for many of these situations, her sensitivity would create more of a shell around her in regards to not being understood by her OWN MOTHER!

Remembering to blog this situation is a feat in itself. Thinking of a way the next day to help Amberly work on her "S" sound was a major accomplishment. We practiced hissing like a snake while we were drawing by ourselves and doing stickers (her favorite quiet time activity). I asked her if she could use that sound to say SUN or SLIDE. It was just a couple of attempts and she loved that I clearly heard her say these words without asking her what she said. When Dad got home from work I asked Amberly to talk to him about going to "practice" (she just started soccer this fall) and she said SOCCER clear as day!

I want to understand what you're saying, I really do!

2009-08-17T11:31:00.000-07:00
This has to be a common thought to parents around the globe as their motormouth toddler is confident in their speech and makes requests left and right. Not to mention they narrate all the things they see and hear and ask questions all day long, all the roadmap to learning!
My well trained "mommy ear" catches about 97% (that is a crude estimate, no true calculations can be accounted for) of what my children ask for verbally. Kyle is 2 1/2, Amberly just about 4. But they both stump me probably once a day each. The other day was particularly frustrating for Kyle as he wanted a snack and he wanted a specific snack. The words he was using sounded familiar but I was not recalling what "that" item was. Trying to be especially patient because he was repeating himself with great ernest, I told him I wanted to give him the item but I was having a hard time understanding his words. I asked if he had a sign for it and he just stared back. After a few minutes I decided to just go through the list of his favorites, even the ones we didn't have in stock so at least I'd know what the heck he was asking for when I landed on the item.
This whole thing felt like 10-15 minutes just because it was so labor intensive, but maybe it was closer to 5 minutes, probably even less than that!
So, what did the poor boy want you ask? A cereal bar! I've shown him the sign for "cereal" and he can say now say and sign that and I'll know what he's after. At least the search will be narrowed down and only take one minute to determine if he is asking for cereal versus a cereal bar!
Got a story like this of your own? Share it by emailing me at info@sign4baby.com.

Great Summer Afternoon Healthy Treat

2009-08-05T16:10:00.000-07:00
I love ice cream and if it were not sinful to the hips I'd indulge daily! This afternoon I created a yummy snack for me and the kids that satisfies the coldness and sweetness factor.
1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese
2 Tbsp of honey
8 medium strawberries, sliced or diced
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Combine all in a bowl and allow toddler/preschooler to help you mix... they will delight in the changing color of the cottage cheese to a blue/purple. I like the frozen blueberries especially for the coldness to transcend to the other ingredients. Be sure to use ripe strawberries if you do not want that tartness that can come from an unripened strawberry. Enjoy!

Use signing in your preparation of snacks as your hungry little one appears to not be able to get his hands on food fast enough. What to sign?
EAT/FOOD
HUNGRY
SRAWBERRY
BERRY
STIR
HELP
WAIT
YUMMY

Incorporate signing in your fun activities and in your routines and your baby or toddler will catch on more quickly. Continue signing with your preschooler to help them with reading skills!

Want to learn more? Sign up for classes at www.sign4baby.com

Baby Babble

2009-07-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Just the phrase will put a smile on someone's face. There is a good feeling that comes over us when we think about the sounds beginning to form in those early months of life. Did Mother Nature happen to create the cutest sound to come "from the mouths of babes," if I can borrow that phrase, or was the intention for us to interact with our babies more? It is not by accident I tell ya. Same as it is not an accident that newborns see best what is between 6-12 inches from their face and that is the distance a baby's head lies as he/she nurses at the breast. It is an important developmental acheivement for babies to babble and practice newfound consonant sounds. Practice makes perfect, so the sound is repetitive in nature. Just about the time this emerges is when you can notice object permanence beginning to emerge. (I say beginning to emerge because it is not as if one day they don't have it and the next day they do, it is concept that slowly builds up, same as crawling and walking). I have a theory there is no accident there either. As they begin to understand that things exist that are not readily in front of them, they begin to be frustrated with the wanting of the item and the lack of ability to retrieve it. Worse yet, no way to tell someone what it is they want. That is until the practice of using sign language with babies came along. I'm seeing all of this click together so much more easily with Owen, being my third baby. Connecting the dots in being able to understand how each milestone has significant relevance has been a fun ride.

Owen is, as you may have guessed, babbling up a storm these last few days. It seemed to all start at the pool on Sunday when he was returned to my arms he looked right at me and exclaimed "ya-ya!" I had such excitement about his new sound that he just kept motoring on and on, even waking up last night to practice his diction. It was so cute, if I wasn't so tired I would have grabbed a video camera to capture it. But as I like to remember my husband once telling me, some moments just have to be enjoyed to the fullest in the present and stored in your heart and your memory.

Amberly's latest thing is "Mommy, I can help you with that." Golden. Just golden. What mommy doesn't want to hear that from their 3 1/2 year old? Most of me believes she has a great sense of empathy because of her ability to sign as an infant and thus having more of her needs met more readily. As a high needs baby, signing was a relief to avoid meltdowns.

Kyle is busy mimicking everything he sees and hears, that's good and not so good! What's nice is I can easily ask him to show me a sign he hasn't used in awhile and remind him we are teaching Owen to sign and he can help me with that. Plus he sings to his baby brother... something he's seen big sis do to calm him down.

Having three kids in the span of 3 1/2 years is nothing short of challenging, and nothing short of precious!