Baby Sign Language
Baby sign language gives babies and parents an effective way to communicate at an early age.
What is
Baby Sign Language?
Babies are amazingly intelligent. From the moment they are born, they start communicating with the world around them. They naturally use cooing, smiling, and crying to communicate their needs and their feelings to you. Babies have control over their hands long before they develop the fine motor skills required for speech. Baby sign language is the process of using symbolic gestures to enhance verbal interactions with your baby. By teaching their infants to sign, starting as early as five months, more parents, grandparents, and caregivers are recognizing the many benefits of this early communication. Research shows that a baby can understand and express much more than was ever thought possible.
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Benefits of Baby Signing
Baby Signing gives babies and parents an effective way to communicate at an early age. Any parent who has ever attempted to comfort a crying baby understands the frustration of not knowing what to do to help their baby.
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Babies who use sign language are more likely to:
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+ speak sooner with larger vocabularies
+ have less frustration and tantrums
+ enhance their memory
+ show a greater interest in books
+ have high self-esteem and confidence
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At Home Classes
Would you love to be able to host a signing playtime in the comfort of your own home?
Now you can! If you are interested in hosting a playtime, and you can gather a minimum of 5 other paying friends, you can get your playtime for free! This playtime is designed for adult/baby pairs. One adult per child is required for child's benefit.
60 mins. - 4 weeks - $60 ea.
Parents' Night Out
What a fun thing to do for a parents' night out! For those of you in playgroups or other small gatherings of parents I have good news. If you are interested in hosting a private workshop, and can gather up a minimum of 5 other paying families, you can get your class for free in exchange for hosting the workshop. You can host the class at your home or in a public setting. The host family needs to have access to a TV and DVD player where your guests will be able to view the TV comfortably. This workshop is designed for adults only.
60 min. - $35 per couple/single
Goo Goo Guru to Go! Workshop
Goo Goo Guru Baby Signing is available to come to you! This is a great option for libraries, parents' groups, and childcare facilities. The organization hosting the workshop can either pay all the cost or divide up the costs among its members. This is a perfect introduction on how to sign with babies and toddlers. Participants will learn about the many benefits of signing and how to include signing in your day-to-day life and during playtime. Participants will learn and practice a number of useful ASL signs during various activities. Handouts included.
60 minutes ~ $300
* Additional charge may apply if workshop is more than 10 miles from Naperville
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Tips: Where Do I start?
+ Choose signs that are empowering to babies. For example, "eat," "milk," "more," "music,", "hurt," etc.
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+ Start using signs at about five months of age. Be sure all the significant people in your baby's life (grandparents, daycare providers, etc.) model the signs consistently.
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+ Make signing part of your daily routine and repeat the signs often.
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+ Say & Sign. Be sure to verbalize the word that you are signing to your child.
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+ Use the sign in context to avoid confusion. If you are using the sign for "milk", make sure you either have a picture of milk, or a bottle/cup of milk.
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+ Respect your baby's learning pace. There is no set time period in which your baby is guaranteed to sign back.
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+ Watch for your baby's sign-recognition. Because their fine motor skills are still developing, their initial attempts to sign may not be perfect.
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+ Learning a visual language such as American Sign Language can be difficult from a book or video. A class offers weekly feedback to ensure you are learning the signs correctly.
Patience and persistence will pay off if you model the signs throughout your daily routine and stick with it.
Relax and have fun!