Happy Easter - Here's the sign for EGGS!

Going on an Easter egg hunt? Easter egg hunts are a great activity for practicing prepositions and describing locations. And using signs for prepositions can really help young children follow directions.

Hide the eggs and then have your child bring the eggs to you and tell you where they found it. Write it down on a list e.g. Purple egg - under the table. Then read it back to them pointing to the words as you read them. You can tell them you are making the list to make sure that all the eggs get found! If your child is having trouble describing locations and using prepositions, make sure you watch where they find the egg, and then give them cues such as, "Was it under the table or in the cup?"

Below are some signs you can use with your baby or child. Remember to just choose one or two to really emphasize and teach for babies and younger children.


Have fun and happy Easter!

Happy Thanksgiving

for following me and to the Baby Signs Program!

Sharing signs and being able to communicate is such a blessing!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Baby Signs Posters:

Baby Signs Holiday Placemat:

This poster can be used as a placemat during your holiday meal. Laminate the “poster” to make it reusable or to create a fun wipe-off board that can help entertain your child before the meal. Practice these meal time signs throughout dinner!

First Conversations With Your Baby

1. Speak to your baby in a high pitched voice. Adults tend to use this way of talking naturally when speaking to babies. It's called "parentese" and studies have shown babies are attracted to it.

 2. Don't use "baby talk". Simple sentences are O.K. at first, but don't use incorrect grammar or your child's "baby" words. Describe what you are doing, where you are going, and who and what you are going to see as you are going about your daily routines.

 3. Encourage your baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as "ma", "da" and "ba". A good way to do this is by repeating what your baby says and then waiting for your baby to repond. This also teaches turn taking.

 4. Respond to any attempt your child makes to communicate. When your child starts saying single words, expand on it. For example, if your baby says "Mama", you can say "Mama is here. Mama loves you.".

5. Encourage eye contact and do activities that keep your baby's attention on your face. Silly facial expressions, imitating your baby's facial expression, playing peek-a-boo, and holding objects your baby is attracted to up by your eyes are all ways to do this.

 

Happy Halloween!

Here's some Halloween treats for you!

Halloween Video

Halloween Handouts 

Halloween Signs Handout

Halloween Safety Booklet

Free Posters to Print Out

Learn the Sign for COSTUME

It is the time of year when COSTUMES fill the stores and soon the streets. Use the sign for COSTUME to help reassure your little one that it is "just a COSTUME." To make this sign, brush open hands down chest several times. This sign can be helpful all year around when your child wants to play dress-up with her favorite COSTUME.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing everyone wonderful Mother's Day! To sign MOMMY, tap your chin with thumb of open hand. 

Meet BeeBo

Hi! This is me, BeeBo™ the Baby Signs® Bear. I help babies learn to communicate even before they can talk! I know how hard it is when you want to tell someone something, but they don't understand you. You have to cry or fuss, and then they have to try to figure out what you are saying. Sometimes it takes a long time for them to figure out your wants and needs and it's SO FRUSTRATING! I know because I don't talk either. But now that my caregiver and I have learned some simple signs like more, eat, and drink, I can tell them what I need, and they understand me! So much better!

I live with Lorraine and her family, and I am going to be helping Lorraine teach  a Parent Workshop February 7th, 2015. I would love to meet you there and teach you some signs and how you can start using them with your baby. If you have an infant or toddler, or are planning on having a baby, you should come to our workshop. It is so much fun to communicate with your baby BEFORE they can even talk! Why wait to communicate? We will also be doing baby and me classes where you can learn and practice signs with games, songs and fun!

Come back soon so I can tell you some more things we are doing, and I'll put up some pictures and videos of me!

To find out more, please visit DesertBabySigns.com .

Learn the Sign for CAT

Children love animals. They like to see animals, touch animals, even pretend to be animals! A favorite animal of many children is the CAT. To sign CAT, simply trace 'whiskers' with thumb and forefinger. This is one of the signs we learn in Sign, Say & Play class! Teach your child the sign for CAT and see how many CATS your little one sees every day!

Come learn with us! 

My Pet Signs DVD
Learn more signs!

Summer Signs

Here's some signs to use for summer. Of course, OUTSIDE isn't really one I want to do much here in the desert right now, except at night after

Happy Signing!

World Breastfeeding Week

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week (Aug 1 - 7), we are sharing the sign for NURSE (BREASTFEED).  To sign NURSE (BREASTFEED), pinch fingers together as you pull hand away from breast or gently tug at shirt over breast.

Find out more here - http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org.

Learn the Sign for DADDY

This Sunday is Father's Day so the Sign of the Week is DADDY, a very special person in all of our lives! To sign DADDY, tap forehead with thumb of open hand.

Help your child learn the sign for DADDY. It will be a special surprise for DAD!

Happy Father's Day!

Learn the Sign for BUG

Aren't bugs fascinating? The sign for BUG can be used to talk about all the insects you see.  Sign BUG by placing your thumb on your nose and bending your first two fingers up and down. Don't forget to use descriptive words like big and little or color words to introduce more fun concepts!

Learn the Sign for FISH

The Sign of the Week is FISH. Children love looking at FISH, so give them a way to talk about them with you by teaching them the sign for FISH. Remember that babies can use gestures and signs before they are able to say words, so teaching them a way to express what they are thinking and feeling may open your eyes to just how smart babies really are! They can tell you that they saw a FISH at the doctor's office, or that they want to read their book about FISH.

To sign the FISH, extend flat hand out with your thumb up and fingers together. Wave fingers back and forth in a forward motion, like the swimming motion of a FISH.  A baby's natural sign for FISH is to smack their lips, so you can add that as well if you like.