Two Food Signs

I tend to get lazy with my signing.  Because Elaina already knows the very basic signs, we get by.  I forget to introduce new ones.

Elaina loves bananas.  It took me a while to figure out, but she would call them "ha".  Probably from the very end sound of banana.  Anyhow, once I realized that she had a name for them, I showed her the sign.  She picked it up immediately.
It was the same with strawberries.
Favorite foods are easy to teach. :)

I am proud of my little girl!  She has already known the signs for "eat", "more", and "drink" and uses them frequently.  But it's exciting now that we are getting into the nitty gritty of what exactly she'd like.

Repetition is Key

We have this great DVD called "Winged Migration" with incredible footage of many different birds and ducks.  While watching that today, Elaina learned a new sign - bird.

To sign 'bird', you open close your pointer and thumb finger

as if you were pinching something between your fingers, mimicking a bird's beak.

It's something I never get tired of, watching her learn new signs and seeing her proud smile when she gets the sign and I acknowledge it.  The funny thing is that she saw the birds and signed 'dog'.  She calls the neighbor cats 'dog' as well, so I'm not surprised.  I guess an animal is an animal to a 14 month old. 

But, back to the sign for 'bird'; this sign requires pretty dexterous fingers, and Elaina's sign for 'bird' looks much like her brothers did when he was that age.

When Elaina signs, her bird's beak is more round than flat, her fingers forming an "o" rather than a beak. She looks like she is trying to pick up a cheerio. :)

Actually, Elaina's first tendency is still to sign 'milk' rather than bird, so I'll be keeping my eye out for more opportunities to sign 'bird', whether it be from pictures, books, or real life. The more she sees the correct sign, the quicker she'll catch on.

When signing with babies, repetition is key!

Down and Up: Useful Signs

One of the easiest signs to learn, and one of the easiest signs to understand is 'down'.

Obviously, its opposite, 'up', is just as easy.

These two signs can be really handy to know when taking care of little ones.  

To sign 'down' simply point and move your index finger down several times.

To sign 'up' point and move your index finger up several times.

With Elaina, I started signing 'down' first, as it is a much easier sign to learn than 'sit'.  She likes to stand up in the bath and in her high chair.  Neither situation is safe.  So, I started signing 'down' while saying "sit down, Elaina".

She understands the sign very well (every time I sign it, I physically sit her down).  In fact, she understands it so well that she will stand up and sign 'down' once we look at her.

The fact that she has everybody's attention when she does this, as well as lots of laughter directed at her, is no doubt one of the reasons she puts on the signing show.  I have since gotten her a new high chair with better restraints.

The sign 'up' is pretty easy to implement into your daily life as well.

When Elaina is done eating, I will sign 'all done' and then 'up' while asking her if she is all done and would like to come out.

You can also use the 'up' sign when your little one wants to come out of her carseat 

or to be picked up into a grown-ups arms.

Try these signs!  They're universal and everybody will understand them whether they know American Sign Language or not!

Where?!

Wow, where has the time gone?!

We are still signing.  Actually, we will always sign.  It is second nature for me now.  So much so that I sometimes sign to my friend's babies without thinking!  They have no idea what I am doing, but I'd love it if they did understand me!

Okay, back to us.  Elaina has learned quite a few signs this last month.
And while I want pictures to share on here, it is really hard to photograph a moving baby who is always headed to my lap. In other words, she fills the frame of my shot with her face if I'm not quick enough.

So, I'll share what poor shots I do have, and I'll have to enlist the help of Daddy sometime soon in getting some better shots.

I think I left off when Elaina learned to sign 'dog'.  That is, by the way, her favorite sign, and she often accompanies the sign with a 'woo, woo".  It's the new cutest thing ever.

The funny thing is she'll sign 'dog', make the woof sounds, then sign 'where'  (our neighbors have a dog that we can often hear, but can't see because of the wood fence that separates our yards).

Her first 'where' was pretty classic.  She'd hold her hands palm up and shrug her shoulders.  I think everyone know what that means.  But it's not the ASL sign for 'where'.

To sign 'where', shake your index finger back and forth 

and furrow your brows as if asking a question.  

Elaina has since moved on from the palm up/shoulder shrug to a twisted closed flat hand.
These are approximations. These are her baby steps in sign.  I'll keep signing the correct form and she'll get it soon!

The one-day sign

Over the weekend, my baby surprised me by learning a new sign after seeing me produce it only a few times!

A friend and I drove up the mountain to check out the fall colors.  She has a cute little dog that all my children were quite enamored with (can you tell we don't have any pets?).  My three year old was letting the dog walk him while everyone else played in the woods.

My baby, Elaina, was quite taken with the four legged animal.  She watched him constantly and kept leaning towards him with her arms outstretched.  

She picked up the sign immediately; I only showed it to her twice before she was doing it herself.

To sign dog, you slap your thigh as if you're calling your dog to come 

(you can then snap your fingers, but for babies I keep it simple and leave it at a leg slap).  

Elaina (12 months) signs 'dog'

The funny thing was that Elaina would use both hands and would slap whoever's thigh was closest, and as we were sitting on the ground together, it was often my thigh she would slap!

I was amazed at how quickly she learned the sign.  After spending months signing 'milk' and 'eat' and waiting for her to produce them, it is such a pleasant surprise to see her pick up a sign in one day!

If there is one thing that really grabs the interest of your child, learn the sign, and teach them!  You'll be amazed at how quickly they 'get it'!  

What things interest your baby?

My Baby's Signs

Even though I have done this a few times, five if you're counting, I never cease to be amazed when my baby signs.

My baby, who just turned one, has learned her seventh sign - 'bath'.
I usually try reward signs with an immediate response, so of course I let her play in the bath after she signed it this evening, but I'm wondering how many baths she is going to request tomorrow!  It's a good thing she knows, and can sign "all done"!

Here she is on her first birthday signing 'baby'.

To sign 'baby', you cradle your arms in front of you 

and gently rock them back and forth, as if you were rocking a baby.

She clasps her hands together and moves her clasped hands back and forth.  It's the cutest thing I've ever seen!  No, I'm not biased or anything. ;)

By the way, this is called a sign approximation. It is her version of the sign 'baby', and one I fully acknowledge as a sign.  I praise her for signing, but continue to sign it correctly myself.  Eventually, as she develops stronger muscle coordination, she will learn the correct way to sign baby.  Signing is kind of like learning to walk.  You start by crawling. Then you move to standing, and eventually to taking the first step.

Isn't it incredible what our babies can learn?!?!  They are so much smarter than we give them credit for!