sign language

my wee ones are almost 9 months old & we have been signing a few words. i have some great children dvds for teaching sign. i'm just not sure how to teach it & when the best time is. i'm a pre-k teacher but this is all new to me!

anyone williing to share their experiences with teaching sign & how. when did your babies start to catch on?
thanks!

 

just dropping in for some advice from you twin mommy pros.

my wee ones are almost 9 months old & we have been signing a few words. i have some great children dvds for teaching sign. i'm just not sure how to teach it & when the best time is. i'm a pre-k teacher but this is all new to me!

anyone williing to share their experiences with teaching sign & how. when did your babies start to catch on?
thanks!

 

My little ones are almost 4 months and we just started. We've been doing the signs and then the action that goes with it. We've also been doing it with their hands so they know. We of course have not seen any results yet but my friends 13 month old has been signing for about 7 months now and its great to see her communicate with her. I'm basically following how she did it and she had create results.

 

I started when they were newborns, the earlier you start, the quicker, easier they'll pick it up. By their 1st birthday we had roughly 15 signs easily! Just use a few all the time and they'll pick it up.

 

We started when our girls were about six months. They're ten months now and it's obvious they recognize a few of the signs (mom, dad, cat, milk, play, change diaper) but they don't yet sign back. We didn't follow any method to teach them, we just always made the sign whenever we said the word. It feels a little funny to put your hand up to your forehead every time you say dad, or squeeze your hand whenever you say milk, but the consistency and repetition really help.

 

There was an article about this in our local newspaper just yesterday. They said you can start as early as four months. As you probably know, the receptive language is far greater than the expressive language, so they will be picking it up even if you don't think they are. I plan on doing sign with both of my babies as well. Good luck!

 

I heard they recommend about 6 mo. THey will sign back between 8 and 12 mo for most babies. My sister started with both hers about 8 mo. Her DD signed back at 12 mo but her DS within a month. Just deopends. I want a DVD with just the basics. What is the name of it?

 

I started when they were about 9-10 months old. Just basic food commands (milk, more, all done, eat, drink, etc) and they are just now at 14 months getting pretty good with them. But I was not nearly that consistent in doing them all the time.

 

I started around 6 months but got more consistent around 9 months.

 

We started signing around 4 months (maybe earlier...those days are blur!). Baby A started signing milk at 6 months and Baby B a few months later. We signed everytime we talked to them and each time we brought them a bottle. We didn't use any videos just because I didn't let them watch TV until they were 20 months old. They were speech delayed due to fluid on the ears and not being able to hear because of it but used signed language so we knew what they wanted or needed. We mainly used milk, more, eat, drink, apple for applesauce, please and thank you. It cut down on crying since we knew when they wanted a bottle or wanted fed. I was exhausted one night and had brought Baby A into our bed. She was moving around so I woke up and saw the outline of her hand in air from the moon light. She was signing milk instead of crying. They are now two and have a great vocabulary and use 6 word sentences. They still sign especially when their mouths are full and they want more

 

I would say I started around 9 months. I started with basic commands also, and my girls became pros in no time!

 

I also started around 9 months by watching Signing Time. I learned the signs along with the by watching the DVD's and tried to incorporate them as much as I could when I spoke. They are big time signers, and I highly recommend it. We really didn't have much in the way of communication frustrations because they could sign, and it really helped clarify their speech when they first started talking.

 

We started around 10m. Like Kelly, I just watched the Signing Time DVDs with them and used repetition as much as possible throughout the day. I'd say we started with our first signs within 2 months.


By 14 months we had maybe 7 signs (more, eat, cat, dog, milk, all done, Dad).
By 18 months we had about 25 signs each.
At 23 months I couldn't even tell you how many signs they have...there are too many to count, and they are picking up on them WAY faster than I am.

 

We started doing signs a couple months ago. I've read that you can start whenever you want, even at birth - just that the earlier you start, the longer you'll wait for them to sign back to you. DD just might be starting to sign back now. Hard to tell if it's real signing or the gesture equivalent of babbling. I'm really looking forward to the day when both of them sign with us!

 

I merged your topic in 1-4 with the one here, since TS does not allow duplicate postings. I did however leave a link behind in 1-4 so that you can still benefit from responses in that forum.

 

We started signs when the girls were around 6 months. We used the "Baby Signs" book by Acredolo and Goodwyn. We bought a baby signs board book with basic signs in it. It took a few months for them to pick up the signs. But, once they figured it out, my girls just took off with it. My husband and I were both committed to doing it and stayed consistent. That's the key.

I love the baby signs because I have always been able to communicate with my girls. They have never been frustrated because they were hungry or thirsty or wanted mommy, etc. They could tell me what they needed WELL before they could speak. They can even "read" the board book to you. It's one of our favorites!

Now they are almost 2. We started watching a show called Signing Times together on PBS. (www.signingtimes.com) And, they have over 100 words in their signing vocabulary. We're just sticking with it because it's fun. But, if you only do it just for basic signs, it's totally worth it.

Hang in there. You won't see immediate results for your efforts, but the wait and work is worth it. :banana:

 

I started at 10 months. DS learned "milk" by the end of the weeek, in just a few days. It's his fav drink and once he figured out this would be a way for him to get it, he would certainly let us know he wanted some. DD took a little while longer - maybe 2 weeks. Her first sign was "more," and she has a great appetitie to this day. So for us their first signs definitely match their personalities. I LOVED learning sign language with my kids and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is willing to try. It was great to have them sign to you and others to let them know what they needed/wanted before they could talk. Go for it!! And, Have Fun!! It is a great language, and one I wish I am fluent in signing.

 

I started right away with just a few basic signs, then got less consistant and started back up again with really using them again at 6months.

My son now signs eat, and has for a few weeks.

 

ooopss, sorry for duplicating. i didn't know about that rule but am sooooo glad for all of these responses. wow, i am amazed at how much your babies have learned & their ability to communicate needs/ wants! and aside from that, it is FUN!

i just need to be consistent with doing it often...i have signed "eat & more" but not much else. i guess that's a good start.

the dvds are the SIGNING TIME collection...so good! i love the cartoon/ special effects. my dh and i put it on while we are feeding them solids so that we can learn. quick question...someone gave me the dvd as a gift but the quality isn't great. are your dvd high quality. i wonder if they burned them??

there is also a website you can go to & look up words in a dictionary. they will do the sign for you on the screen so you can see & practice.

the website is:
http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi


thanks for all the wonderful feedback...keep it coming! i love reading about your experiences & what a wonderful way for them to be bilingual!