The Three R's for Teaching Signs and Vocabulary to Children

Relevant:

Make signs/words you are teaching the child relevant to his or her daily life - does it help them express their wants and needs or is it something they are really interested in talking about?

Repetition:

Children need a lot of repetition to learn a new word, so try to use the 5 times rule – find ways to use the word 5 times in quick succession emphasizing the word. Look for and even make opportunities to practice the word throughout the day. 

Reinforcement: Praise the child's attempts even if it is not quite correct. With practice, repetition and modeling, they will improve over time, but if they become discouraged and don't try, they cannot improve. You learn by your mistakes! It is also important to reinforce the child's use of the signs by immediately following through with the action that the sign indicates if you can. If they sign MORE, give them more immediately so they understand the connection between the sign/word and getting more. If something works, then it increases the likelihood that it will occur again. If it doesn't seem to work, your baby will probably stop trying. Consistency is key.

Click here for PDF copy.

Sign of the Week - BIRD

As the weather warms, BIRDS start to return to our neighborhoods. Children will use the sign for BIRD to tell you when they see BIRDS or when they hear BIRDS. One mom even shared a story about her daughter signing BIRD on the swing, because the little girl felt like she was flying like a BIRD!

To sign BIRD,  use your thumb and index finger to make a "beak" at your mouth and open and close.

Click on the word below or on the poster image to download the printable poster:

 Bird

Sign of the Week - STRAWBERRY

It's beginning to feel like summer here, and STRAWBERRIES are the perfect summer fruit in my opinion! By themselves, in a salad or STRAWBERRY shortcake, what could be a better summer treat? So point them out to your little ones and show them this sign next time you go shopping for them in the grocery store or the roadside fruit stand.

To sign STRAWBERRY, hold tip of pinky finger and twist like removing a strawberry from the stem.

Click on the link to see and print the poster: https://www.babysigns.com/pdf/Strawberry.pdf

Happy signing!

Sign of the Week - SUN

Sunny days are coming! Use the sign for SUN to help your child talk about the SUN in the sky, in books, or even in his drawings!  To sign SUN draw a circle toward the sky with your index finger.  Then extend open fingers like rays of the sun. Don't forget to say the word as you sign it - SUN!

Click on the link below to see and print the poster:  https://www.babysigns.com/pdf/Sun.pdf

Sign of the Week - CAT

Children love animals. They like to see animals, touch animals, even pretend to be animals! A favorite animal of many children is the CAT. To sign CAT, simply trace 'whiskers' with thumb and forefinger. Teach your child the sign for CAT and see how many CATS your little one sees every day!

Click on the link below to see and print the poster!
https://www.babysigns.com/pdf/Cat.pdf

Sign Of The Week - BUG

As the weather gets warmer BUGS of all types begin to appear. This is the perfect sign for us here in the Coachella Valley as the ladybugs have been the talk of the playground this week!  You can find tons of them in the grass on the weeds with the little yellow flowers.  It reminds of when I was in 4th grade in Swaziland, Africa. Our teachers always had a nature table in the classroom where we brought in the interesting leaves, bugs, rocks, etc. to share.   One day a student brought in what we thought was some kind of cocoon.  It turned out to be an egg case, a praying mantis egg case!  For the next few weeks we had hundreds of tiny brown baby praying mantises crawling all over us while we worked!  I loved it!  To this day, praying mantises are my favorite insect!

Sign BUG by placing your thumb on your nose and bending your first two fingers up and down. The sign for BUG can be used to talk about all the insects you see. Don't forget to use descriptive words like big and little or color words to introduce more fun concepts!

Click on the link to see and print the poster https://www.babysigns.com/pdf/Bug.pdf

Easter Egg Hunt Signs

Going on an Easter egg hunt? Well it's a great opportunity to help your child learn signs and vocabulary for describing locations such as in, on and under! Using signs for prepositions can really help young children follow directions. So hide those eggs and sign and say where they were! Click on these words to see the signs.

Where? in , on, under, over1, over 2, beside, behind, basket, egg

Happy signing and hunting!