Signing 4 Baby - Baby Sign Language » annie http://www.signing4baby.com/blog Teaching Parents how to teach their Babies Sign Language Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:34:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Emotion Signs with Annie http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/emotion-signs-with-annie/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/emotion-signs-with-annie/#comments Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:31:23 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=102 Emotions

Happy, Sad, Scared, Bored, Surprise, Tired, Mad

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/emotion-signs-with-annie/feed/ 2 My Secret Language! http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/my-secret-language/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/my-secret-language/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:43:05 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=87 One time when Annie was just little a friend of ours was offering her some candy.  Annie looked at me to see if it was okay.  Without my friend seeing me I signed “no, no”, to Annie.  She looked at my friend and shook her head no.  My friend looked at me in amazement and said, “wow you hardly ever see a kid turn down candy”.  I acted like I was surprised too… little did she know I was just using sign language to let Annie know exactly what I wanted to.

I’ve also used sign language when we’re out playing at a park or other public places when it’s too loud for my kids to hear me or I just don’t feel like yelling at the top of my lungs.  The other parents watch as we sign back and forth.  They’re always so impressed when my kids follow whatever instructions I “secretly” gave to the kids.  I love using sign language!  I wish more people knew it, because it really is a lot of fun.

Andrea Ploehn

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/my-secret-language/feed/ 1 Annie turned 5! http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-turned-5/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-turned-5/#comments Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:00:07 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=93

I can’t believe she is already 5!  It’s so fun to watch your kids grow and reach new stages in their lives.

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-turned-5/feed/ 2 Annie Teaching Color Signs http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-teaching-color-signs/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-teaching-color-signs/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:36:30 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=81

Blue, Brown, Red, Pink, Purple, White, Orange, Yellow, Green, Black

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-teaching-color-signs/feed/ 0 Sign Language Makes Me Cool! http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/sign-language-makes-me-cool/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/sign-language-makes-me-cool/#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:06:47 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=79 My daughter Annie is 4 years old, (but she acts like she’s 16, I think it’s a girl thing).  Anyway, since I’ve been recording her a little bit teaching some signs, she feels so cool.  We visited my parents this weekend and one day I walked in the room where Annie was teaching my mom some sign language.  My mom was praising her on how smart she was and that she couldn’t believe how many signs Annie knew.  Later that day Annie said, “when we get home I think maybe I’ll do a little class and teach the kids in the neighborhood some signs”.  I absolutely love the confidence signing has given my daughter.  It’s something special that people give her admiration for… Annie didn’t say it in these words, but you can see it in her eyes, she’s thinking… Sign Language makes me cool!

I’m so glad that I’ve given her extra confidence in life… sign language has been an absolute gift.

Andrea Ploehn, www.signing4baby.com

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/sign-language-makes-me-cool/feed/ 1 My Kids and the van Ghost http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/my-kids-and-the-van-ghost/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/my-kids-and-the-van-ghost/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:07:47 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=80

Here’s Annie and Brandon with the van ghost.

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/my-kids-and-the-van-ghost/feed/ 0 4 and 2 year olds teaching 11 week old to use sign language! http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/4-and-2-year-olds-teaching-11-week-old-to-use-sign-language/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/4-and-2-year-olds-teaching-11-week-old-to-use-sign-language/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:40:23 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=51

Here are my beautiful older children teaching my 11 week old sign language. It’s so fun to get the whole family involved.

Andrea Burton Ploehn

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/4-and-2-year-olds-teaching-11-week-old-to-use-sign-language/feed/ 0 Using Baby Sign Language in Games can help Optimize the Emergence of Language in Children http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/using-baby-sign-language-in-games-can-help-optimize-the-emergence-of-language-in-children/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/using-baby-sign-language-in-games-can-help-optimize-the-emergence-of-language-in-children/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:26:11 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=25 As a family we like to play games. We were playing hide and seek one night and Brandon started signing “where, I don’t know”. He kept looking for Annie but he just couldn’t figure it out. He did this when he was about 13 months old. Not many children can say full sentences like, “Where is Annie, I don’t know where she’s hiding”. With sign language though, he was able to communicate this exact thought.

When we can give our hearing babies the advantage of both ASL and English the benefits are fantastic. In her book Dancing with Words, Marylin Daniels explains that “Sign language has the unique capacity to tap into the natural exchange between hand and brain, optimizing the emergence of language in the child because of the physiological advantage of American Sign Language (ASL) over English.”

Games are a great time to reinforce signing. Your child is already doing something that they enjoy and when you add a sign to that environment then they automatically associate enjoyment with the signs.

]]> http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/using-baby-sign-language-in-games-can-help-optimize-the-emergence-of-language-in-children/feed/ 0 Annie using Baby Sign Language http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-using-baby-sign-language/ http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/annie-using-baby-sign-language/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:56:39 +0000 Andrea http://www.signing4baby.com/blog/?p=10 I started signing with Annie at 6 months, but she didn’t start signing back to me until 11 months. Even though your baby might not be signing yet, don’t forget that there’s a lot still going on.  For instance, One stage that I thought was fascinating was when she started to comprehend the signs. The first one I noticed her recognizing was eat. When she’d start to fuss I’d sign eat and she would instantly stop crying and start reaching for her food.

It was amazing… it made me pay attention to how much she probably understood and I just hadn’t noticed. This stage of her signing happened in the first month I signed with her. So remember to pay attention and look closely so you don’t miss out.

Andrea

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