How can I start Signing with My Child?

08/27/2014

We have another great guest entry from Tanya with My Smart Hands regarding How you can start signing with your child! We are very excited to have Tanya coming to our Mom and Baby group to do a demonstration this fall!

How can I start Signing with My Child?

The good news is that signing with your baby or toddler is a lot of fun. There are many games, activities, movement activities and songs that can be used during the day! Here are some ways to start signing with your child:

Sign & Sing

Children love to music and movement. Signing is easy to incorporate into nursery and traditional children songs. Think about what song sooths your child and then learn the signs! In our Level I class, we learn to sign to many songs including: ABC, twinkle twinkle little star, row row row your boat, old MacDonald, on top of spaghetti and many more.

Sign & Read

Reading with your child helps to promote pre-literacy skills! When adding signing to a story, your baby becomes much more interested as you are using two languages! Signing allows your child to learn important pre literacy skills to assist them with reading in their preschool years.

Sign & Play

Signing when playing is important for a child’s imagination and language development. Signing allows parents to express concepts and themes into a child’s play. For instance, signing “where red ball” will allow the child to further play by finding the “red” object. A baby is able to ask for their favorite toy or a toddler can sign to problem solve during their play time.

There are many ways to start signing with your child. Join My Smart Hands Saskatoon on Facebook for more ideas on play, information on baby & toddler sign language, upcoming classes and more.

Happy Signing,

Tanya Myrfield-Wolfe- BSW, RSW, Certified Baby Sign Language Instructor, & Parent Educator

My Smart Hands Saskatoon

www.mysmarthandssaskatoon.com

www.facebook.com/MySmartHandsSaskatoonBabySignLanguage