Comments on Hobo Mama: Get started baby signing: A review of Baby Sign La...

Part two... As you’ve likely guessed, I’m a stron...

2010-02-20T15:30:28.083-08:00

Part two...

As you’ve likely guessed, I’m a strong proponent of using true ASL signs. It’s the third most commonly used language in the U.S. after English & Spanish. When little ones see & use ASL their brains process it in a unique manner with right & left brain coordination, & that isn’t the case when exposed to created gestures or pantomime. Also, as a former Special Education teacher, I know that your little ones will encounter others who use ASL as their main means of communication by the time they’re in elementary school. With the amount of mainstreaming in the schools, why not teach a sensitivity, at an early age, for others who need to sign throughout their lives? Finally, many ASL signs are iconic, or representational, so they visually make sense to parents & little ones & are easier to learn & remember because of that.

The topic of bilingual homes came up in the thread and some wondered how to use sign language in that situation. You do not need to learn signs in the second language spoken, such as Spanish or German. The signs would indeed be different in ASL vs Spanish Sign Language or German Sign Language. Use the ASL whether the word is spoken in English, Spanish, German or whatever and your little one will have a better understanding of the two spoken languages, because of the signs used to link the two spoken languages in the home. Make sense?

For those of you still looking for quality materials, or wanting to focus purely on ASL signs, please check out my website for my Roo-minder Rings. I created these, instead of a book, b/c busy parents often don’t have time to make it through an entire book. The rings of cards can be hooked onto a diaper bag, high chair or stroller or post individual cards around the house for reminders to sign consistently. They’re the only cards that have full-color photos of adults signing, arrows, sign descriptions & memory aids to remember the signs. Also, they're laminated...i.e. spit up proof! ;0) I also sell a fun ASL music CD & songbook set on my site from a local publisher & adults & little ones love the music! BTW, I give a big thumbs up to the Signing Time videos. They’re all true ASL & the one of the children starring in them is deaf & the other is hearing.

Finally, if any of you are in the Seattle area, I hope you’ll check out the class offerings on my website. Happy signing all! I hope you found this info helpful & feel free to email me through my website if you have any questions. http://www.hoptosignaroo.com

Nancy Hanauer - Hop to Signaroo ®

Hi all. I’ve been reading this thread & wante...

2010-02-20T15:28:17.371-08:00

Hi all. I’ve been reading this thread & wanted to hop in. My name is Nancy Hanauer & I have a business called Hop to Signaroo ®. I teach American Sign Language (ASL) classes for hearing parents & babies. I started my biz in 2000 & was one of the first people in North American teaching classes. To date more than 1,500 babies & 3,000+ parents & educators in the Seattle area have graduated from my four-week classes & two-hour workshops. Previously, I was a Special Education Teacher & have 20years of teaching & signing experience. I tell you all this to verify my “street cred” so, hopefully, you’ll find my input & expertise helpful when deciding what kind of materials to use when signing with your little ones. ;0)

First let me tell you that the book Hobo Mom reviewed is not American Sign Language, it’s New Zealand Sign Language. A parent likely wouldn’t realize this unless they’re fluent in ASL & read the author’s bio on the back of the book. I’m very surprised it was published in the U.S. All developing countries have their own version of sign language, even though many people assume signing is universal.

The Baby Signs book, referenced by Caroline, is based on a system of created gestures. It does have *some* ASL signs but the basis of the program, & Acredolo & Goodwyn’s initial philosophy before they added a small portion of ASL signs, was a system of created gestures. Unfortunately some of their made-up gestures are inappropriate things in ASL & many of the created gestures involve sniffing, pant & blowing. Have you heard that signing with your baby will slow down speech? Well, it won’t if your use ASL b/c you speak to your little one as you normally do & add the key signs with your hands. If you teach your baby to sniff, pant or blow as a means of communication - well, you do the math. Also, if you teach your little one a created “language” & they’re in a distress situation signing “hurt” or “help”, no one else will understand them. If you use ASL, there’s a much better chance someone will.

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Thanks for the link, Lisa! Now if I can just *dec...

2009-12-07T06:32:44.876-08:00

Thanks for the link, Lisa!

Now if I can just *decide* whether I want to stress ASL or just go with whatever. I watched Signing Times with my 11yo daughter this weekend and we liked it.

I just want to say that baby sign language is AMAZ...

2009-12-05T19:07:28.273-08:00

I just want to say that baby sign language is AMAZING! My son (17 months) can communicate very effectively using signs, although he's dropped some signs as he is picking up more verbal language. His first sign was "milk" which he recognized at 5 months, and started using later. His signing really picked up around 13 months and in a couple months he had maybe 80 signs?

I like the website signingsavvy.com because it has a great animated dictionary. Baby Signing Time videos are the best! My son LOVES them, and he's learned a lot from them and also regular Signing Time videos, and I get to learn right along with him. I think it's the easiest way for the parents to learn the signs. Then you just use them regularly as you learn them...there is no special "teaching time"--you just use the signs in every day conversation.

I'm curious, HM... did you choose the signing ...

2009-12-04T07:09:30.366-08:00

I'm curious, HM... did you choose the signing videos because they are ASL? or because they're videos?

I have picked up Vol 1 from my library and wonder how well I could use the two in conjunction.

CaroLyn: If you do use different signs in E...

2009-12-03T15:46:03.929-08:00

CaroLyn: If you do use different signs in English & Spanish, let me know how it goes! I've actually been appreciating that the sign is the same from one language to another (English & German in our case), so that it builds sort of a bridge between the two languages. But I know there are specific Spanish sign languages, so maybe you could find out those signs! That would be cool.

Whozat: Isn't it great? I love having a window into their minds when they're still so young. It always astonished me what Mikko was noticing and thinking, and I would never have known if not for signing.

Jorje: Thanks again for guest posting! I'm so glad you tackled a book I hadn't read. I'm going to have to check it out now. Hope signing continues to go well for you guys & Sasha!

We've been signing to my daughter since she wa...

2009-12-01T22:21:28.651-08:00

We've been signing to my daughter since she was very young, and she started signing back to us at 10 months.

Now, at 13 months, she knows about a half-dozen signs, and it already makes things SO much easier and less frustrating for us all - especially because she can tell us "more" or "all done" at mealtime.

We can also "chat" about dogs and flowers, which is just amazing.

How timely! I've a four month old (my first) a...

2009-12-01T18:18:48.735-08:00

How timely! I've a four month old (my first) and I'm reading Baby Signs by Acredolo and Goodwyn. It is very similar to this book in layout and philosophy. I'm enjoying it a lot and already working in some of the basic signs when talking to the Baby Piranha. My husband is even somewhat enthused about it, though we'll have to be careful about making up signs for the same words, or better yet, a word in one language gets one sign and a word in another language meaning the same word gets a different sign... Could get confusing with me speaking English and signing to her and him speaking Spanish and signing to her! Fun though. I can't wait for her to start signing back.