How can i start teaching my 8 month old daughter to use sign language?
I highly recommend the "Signing Time" videos. We borrowed them from the public library after several recommendations from others, and we were very pleased. The whole family learned dozens of signs quickly and easily!
My family absolutely LOVES Signing Time! Our daughter started watching it when she was about 9 months old. She's 4 1/2 now and still loves them and still loves to sign.
Signing Time! is created specially for kids. They are 30 minute videos that teach American Sign Language vocabulary. Rachel is the host, and her daughter Leah and nephew Alex are the main characters. Leah was born deaf, and the need to teach family & friends to sign inspired them to create Signing Time!. They introduce the word - verbally, written, and signed - and then show many people & kids signing & saying the word, as well as showing what the word means. Such as for "dog" they would show dogs.
Very easy to learn from, and if you watch a couple times too you will know all of the signs as well! They make it so much fun for kids that they don't know they are learning!
They also have a couple videos called "Baby Signing Time!" that are cartoon based & designed for babies.
Once you learn some of the basic words, use them every time you say those words to your daughter. Milk, more, eat, mom, dad, etc. As long as she sees it repeatedly in the right context, she will learn the sign, the verbal word, as well as the meaning. My daughter has had an amazing vocabulary & could speak pretty clearly early on, and I believe Signing Time! has contributed to that!
They used to show an episode on PBS on Saturday mornings, but they quit. I think they show some of the songs at random times on Nick Jr (I think that's the right one), but I don't watch that channel enough to know if they are still doing it.
You might be able to find it at your library if you'd like to try it before buying it. Otherwise, the only place I know to buy it is direct from their Web site: http://www.signingtime.com
You could also see if there is a Signing Time Academy instructor near you. http://www.signingtimeacademy.com
They are trained to teach sign language to babies/kids and parents with the help of Signing Time materials. Wish I had the time & money to do that, it would be fun!
Good luck, and happy learning! ASL is a great language for anyone to learn, even if you don't know anyone who is deaf. I've even used it to communicate with my daughter while rinsing my mouth with Listerine! LOL It worked :)
Edited to add: I forgot they have videos on YouTube! Duh! lol http://www.youtube.com/user/SigningTime
there is another question like this today...
Do it 1 or 2 words at a time. The book "signing with your baby" by ? Garcia was great for us. Be consistent and don't do to many at once and be patient. It takes months! There are also several ipod apps for the techno savy.
Go to your local library and find teaching baby sign language books. if they don't have any then ask the librarian to order some for you through inner-library loan.
Go to www.signingtime.com. They have great videos for babies and children. My daughter, my
Mom and I learned at the same time by watching
these dvds. They are great and fun.
there was another question like this earlier i would suggest reading her answers also. I would by signing time videos and there was another one we used on our son which had a bear in it. let her watch these fairly frequently. when you learn the signs everytime you talk to her also sign to her. when you make her milk sign milk and if she wants more sign more while giving her more. start with necessary signs more, milk, and eat. move on to more signs from there. Don't expect miracles it will take time. I sign hot if i give my son hot anything.
Dont expect the signs to be done right either. just like they say words wrong but similar the same will happen with signs. ex cookie is the cookie cuitter on the hand going in 2 directions my son only does one direction. or like when they say kitty it usually starts out itty. it comes in time just like talking. if my son cleans his plate and signs more i sign all gone then i sign more. i am slowly adding to his sign vocabulary. keep in mind my son is 2 1/2 and only signs when its convient. lately he has reverted to whining and pointing instead of signing. this is usually when he is real tired past nap time. he know them but its more fun to whine and point.
I guess he just gets more sympathy that way in his mind. if you give her a banana sign banana to her. but dont expect miracles or her to do it tomarrow. it comes in tme. be patient and have fun.
If you know sign language I would suggest that you just do it with your daughter. I have a friend that does daycare and she has used it on her children for years. They just automatically pick it up. They are sponges. It is amazing.
L.
I found it to be beneficial to start teaching the sign for 'more' during mealtime or snack time. Have her favorite food available (cheerios worked for us) and give her a little bit of it. When she points or otherwise lets you know she wants more, sign 'more' and say 'oh, you want more'. Do this several times and you can also help her use her hands to make the 'more' sign. If you consistently do that for every snack and meal, she will pick up that sign quickly and then build from there. I think the second sign my daughter picked up was 'finished'.
Both of my babies loved the baby signing time videos and learned the signs.
http://www.babysigningtime.com/?gclid=CNjK8YCqyKQCFdRS2go...
By the way, a lot of signing time 'shorts' can be found on You Tube. With my daughter (who has downs) we started with commonly used signs (food, milk, more, etc.). Everytime we sat down to eat, I would sign & talk over and over. 'Ready to eat (use the sign)?', 'Momma is getting your food (sign) ready.' 'Yum, this is good food (sign again).' Etc...Your child will not do it right away but over time they will associate the sign with the item (just like they learn over time that a 'ball' is a ball).
After they learn 2-3 signs, teach 2-3 more. My daughter currently has a sign vocabulary of over 100 words. She didn't start signing back until she was almost a year (because of her delays I'm guessing) but now when she watches signing time she signs all the signs (or attempts them) and can even sign the words when heard in context. It has been a great tool to prevent frustration & make communication easier!! If you have any questions feel free to email! ;)
There are a few signs that are a bit difficult (fine motor) so my daughter & I modify them. As you long as you understand each other, that is most important!
Started with my daughter when she was around 4mos old, just some really basic stuff, nurse, more, all done... signing with her was an absolute blessing - we never had that frustrated stage when they want something but don't have the words. I don't remember what book/dvd I had at the time, but I'm sure if you check out amazon and read reviews you'll find something good. It's fun - especially when they start signing back!
You both learn at the same time! My DIL started teaching my granddaughter the day she was born..... She's two now and very fluent in english and in sign language. I would go to a website specifically for learning how to sign and just do what it tells you to do.
