Signing With Your Baby: Opportunities for Signing
Once you've been signing with your baby for several weeks or
months and your baby has mastered the basic signs that cover his
or her needs (such as milk, more, eat, drink, etc.), you will
probably want to expand his or her signing vocabulary (as well
as your own).
The world around you and your child award you with countless
opportunities to do just this. You can teach your baby a sign
that has significance to almost any situation you may find
yourselves in.
Family members are a great way to start expanding your child's
vocabulary. Starting with "mother" and "father" plus any
siblings is a good way to begin, and you can create name signs
for family members. One good suggestion I've heard from parents
is to use the first letter of the person's name in a way that
reminds you of that person. Say Aunt Samantha is a nurse - you
could use the letter "s" on the wrist to combine the first
letter of her name with her occupation.
Holidays and events are also interesting ways to spice up the
signing activities. Think of objects you baby may see around
your house that he or she may not be too sure of. For example,
during Christmas, Corbin learned the signs for "Santa," "tree,"
"lights," and "party." It's also a good way to introduce your
child to your culture and/or religion.
The natural world offers many things to learn about. Take a walk
and teach your baby the signs for the animals he or she sees and
signs for "flower" or "tree," "sky" or "clouds." Night time is a
good opportunity to show your baby the sign for "moon," "bed,"
or "sleep." Take advantage of your daily routine to add signs to
your baby's growing vocabulary.
Books are a great source of inspiration for us. We have books of
all kinds, and the ones Corbin likes to sign with the best are
the animal books. Babies love animals and this is a great way to
introduce animal signs.
Television may not be the best activity for your baby or child,
but when you do watch TV together make the most out of it by
signing the things your baby sees on the screen. This way the TV
becomes an interactive learning tool for your child. All you, as
a parent, have to do it recognize good opportunities for signing
and act upon them when they present themselves. If you use ASL,
look up signs beforehand and be ready to use them when the
opportunity arises, and if you make up your signs, it's as easy
as using a little creativity. Good luck!