How Rhyming Aids Reading

Here at Baby Signs, we know that there’s more to helping children prosper than just teaching them to sign. That’s why we developed a set of classes for children from Birth to age 6 called “On the Grow™” classes (check them out at www.babysigns.com). It was while I was working of the curriculum for the latest one of these where we teach parents and children the ASL signs for the alphabet (“ABC Sign with Me!) that it occurred to me that this blog might be a good place to share a few fun tips about helping children learn to read.

Preparation for learning to read can, and in fact should, start very early. One pre-reading skill that’s easy and fun to work on is “Phonemic Awareness.” What this fancy term refers to is the simple recognition that words are made up of separate sounds—for example, the word “cat” is made up of the separate sounds “Ca + Aa + Ta. Because the job of letters is to represent these separate sounds, being able to recognize that words are divisible in this way is obviously an important component of learning to read.

Well, an easy and fun way to help children develop phonemic awareness is to introduce them to lots of nursery rhymes and simple poems. Here’s why. Words rhyme precisely because they share their ending sounds but not their beginning sounds and poems help make these words and their sound similarities and differences stand out so children are more likely to notice. Listen to this old classic:

Humpty, Dumpty sat on the WALL
Humpty, Dumpty had a great FALL
All the king’s horses and all the kings MEN
Couldn’t put humpty together AGAIN.

Research from the University of Oxford in England actually found that 3-year-olds who knew lots of nursery rhymes were more advanced in phonemic awareness than those children who did not—and therefore were on the road to reading at an accelerated pace.

So dust off your copies of Mother Goose and give it a go. You’ll not only be having fun, but also helping your child develop a critical ingredient necessary for learning to read.

Happy Signing (and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, PhD.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC

Here, There, and Everywhere!

Do you remember how, once you were expecting a baby, you began to see pregnant women everywhere? Or, having finally decided to buy a particular car, you started to notice how many like it were already on the road? Where did they all come from? The answer, of course, lies in the heightened awareness that your own situation creates. It’s as though you have special radar unconsciously scanning the environment for the things that are momentarily of special importance to you.

The same thing happens to your baby when she learns a new sign or new word. With a new label at her command, she suddenly sees examples everywhere—even in places that you don’t expect. For example, for 14-month-old Eli, the “apple” sign made even a trip to the grocery store a special adventure, what with apples, labels on apple pies and apple juice and even pictures of apples on greeting cards. His mother, like many of us, nad never realized how pervasive apples were in the environment until Eli set about to find them all.

In a similar way, 15-month-old Trina had a love affair with her “bird” sign. Everyone expects to find birds out the window or at the park—but at church? Sure enough, embedded in the stained-glass windows over the altar were not one but two ornamental doves, peace symbols to the congregation but just plain birds to Trina. At least using signs was a quiet way to talk about them!

Butterflies are what 15-month-old Julia (see photo) finds everywhere, including on the coffee mugs at the Baby Signs, Inc. office where she entertains us every Monday at our staff meetings. (Want to see more of Julia signing? Click here!)

Like the parents of these babies, you’ll find yourself amazed at how vigilant your baby can be. She may be only a baby, but lots of mental activity is happening for her behind the scenes. And each time your baby tells you about something with a sign, she is providing you with a glimpse into all that activity, enabling you to respond appropriately and enthusiastically.

Happy Signing (and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, PhD.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Happy Fathers' Day!

When I started seriously studying Child Development as a graduate student in 1969, the emphasis in the field was on the role that mothers play in fostering healthy development, and it had been that way every since Freud began in the early 1900s blaming them for everything wrong with children. This total focus on mothers finally began to change in the 1970s, as woman began to spread their wings and shout “Hey! We’re only one side of the parenting equation. It’s about time dads began stepping up to the plate too!”

As a result, the science began to change, in part by documenting the ways that dads contribute uniquely to the welfare of children. We learned that dads play in more “rough and tumble” ways than moms, that they tend to allow children to be more adventuresome, and that fathers teach boys about manhood and teach girls, in the best case scenarios, that the world can be their oyster, too. On the other hand, we also learned that “nurturing” can be done as much by dads as moms—and, thankfully, many of today’s modern dads take this lesson to heart.

That’s certainly true of the young dad in this photo—my step-son, Jim—who is holding one of his premature twin babies. You couldn’t ask for a more dedicated and “hands-on” dad, in the trenches every day.

The other fellow in the photo is the proud grandpa of the twins as well as my husband, Larry. While he may have started out as the more traditional, old-fashioned father, I’m pleased to say that he has met the challenge of expanding his vision of fatherhood and is enormously proud of the way Jim is “stepping up to the plate.”

Well before the birth of the twins, however, Larry had turned the corner. In every way he could think of, he did his darnedest to be there for Jim, not only instilling in his son compassion, courage, and integrity, but also providing him with whatever emotional support he could. As a result, the two of them have one of the closest, most emotionally rich and mutually satisfying father-son relationships I have ever seen.

So, on this Father’s Day, I want to say “Bravo” to two fathers who symbolize the best that fathers can be. Let’s hope both twins—Olivia as well as Nathan—grow up to understand that it’s love and sacrifice rather than gender that matters when it comes to raising healthy and happy children.

Happy Signing (and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, PhD.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

It Really IS Potty Time!

As many of you know, we at Baby Signs are anxious to help parents get their babies out of diapers as soon as possible—hopefully by age 2, both for their own benefit and for a healthier environment. To this end, we’ve developed a potty training kit complete with materials to educate mom and interest baby. One of the steps we encourage is for parents to teach the “potty” sign (shaking the fist, with thumb between first and second fingers) so that their child has a way to indicate he/she needs to go potty even before words are available. Well, the following story is a funny example of how well it works.

I’ve written before about little Julia, the now 14-month-old little girl that attends all our Monday staff meetings with her mom, staff-member Bonita. Not only is Julia a super signer, but she’s also “On Board the Baby Signs® Potty Train” and already using the potty quite consistently. As evidence that she knows “what’s what,” here’s what happened a few weeks ago.

Bonita and Julia were at a baby store chatting with the owner about all Julia’s signs. The subject of potty training came up and Bonita launched into an explanation of the Baby Signs® potty training program and how Julia was learning to do the “potty” sign when she needed to go. As if to illustrate the point, Julia cooperated and did the potty sign—whereupon Bonita said “Yes, that’s the potty sign” and continued her explanation of the program. That is, she continued until she noticed a warm and wet sensation spreading down her shirt and pants! Clearly, Julia wasn’t just showing off that she knew the sign; she was using it as it was intended—to let her mother know she needed to go! Needless to say, Bonita learned a valuable lesson that day: When a baby signs, pay attention!

Happy Signing (and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, PhD.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

First Metaphors . . .with Signs!

One of the most creative ways we use language is to point out similarities between things, similarities that strike us as especially informative, beautiful, or even funny. “His face was an open book.” “My love is like a red, red rose.” Such parallels are called metaphors or similes. You may be surprised to learn how early such creative begins—especially when babies know simple signs.

An airplane ride was the occasion for a particularly nice example: Fifteen-month-old Brandon was settling into his seat for his first airplane ride when he looked toward the window and began smacking his lips enthusiastically. “You see a fish?” asked his mom as she followed his gaze. But it was raining quite hard and all she could see was water dripping down the window beside his seat. Nevertheless, Brandon was insistent and continued to sign even more vehemently—fish, fish, FISH! Suddenly the mystery was solved as his mom looked at the window with different eyes. “Oh! I bet you’re telling me it looks like our aquarium at home!” said his mother in amazement. “You’re absolutely right. That’s where fishies live!” Brandon’s response? A big, satisfied grin.

Other babies have shown similar creativity with their signs: 11-month-old Cady calling the broccoli on her plate a “flower,” 18-month-old Elizabeth calling the long-hosed vacuum cleaner an “elephant,” 16-month-old Austin using the “monkey” sign to describe a particularly hairy young man, and 17-month-old Carlos describing a trip through the car wash as “wind” and “rain.”

Using signs, babies continue to teach us a valuable lesson: Bring fresh eyes to even an old place and you may be surprised by what you see!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
l
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Signing Sentences: When One Sign Isn't Enough!

There’s no doubt that a single sign—such as MORE, for example—conveys important information. But there’s also no denying that the combination MORE plus COOKIE is even clearer. Babies seem to know this intuitively; that’s why as soon as they can, they begin stringing two words (or signs!) together and sentences are born.

This important intellectual milestone— the ability to put true words together—typically occurs on average around 20 months, with many babies waiting until their third year. Things happen much earlier, however, with signs. Because signs are easier to learn than words, babies can begin putting them together with each other and with single words as early as 12 months! The most useful signs in this regard are MORE which can be combined with lots of other signs or words (e.g., cookie, milk, book, bubbles, etc.) and ALL GONE which is equally combinable (e.g., with water for down the drain, food words or signs, and even animal signs when animals run or fly away).

Many signing babies, however, don’t stop with just two. Here’s a great illustration: Michelle took her 19-month-old twins, Jimmy and Julianna (see photos), for their first trip through the car wash. She thought they might enjoy it; instead, they began crying hysterically, clearly terrified by the onslaught of water, brushes, and noise. That night when Daddy got home, they immediately told him all about it…with signs: CAR + BATH+ SAD/CRY! For weeks afterward, when they would get in the car they would repeat the same “sentence” just to make sure Mom wouldn’t forget and take them there again!

Yup! Sometimes one word (or sign) alone isn’t nearly enough!

Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to look for us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

A Window into the Infant Mind

Much to my delight, the good news about baby sign language has spread far and wide—especially in contrast to how few people knew anything about it when Dr. Susan Goodwyn and I published our first research article about babies and signing in 1985.

I do find, however, that many parents and child care providers still focus almost exclusively on the mealtimes signs—like EAT, DRINK, MILK, MORE, ALL DONE. What a shame! Yes, babies want and need to communicate these things, but many of them are even more interested in communicating about the exciting things they see in the world around them.


Here’s a true story from out book, Baby Signs, that illustrates my point:

Abby, 14 months old, was visiting her aunt. When bedtime rolled around, her dad tucked her into bed in her cousin’s room. Just after he switched off the light and closed the door, he heard Abby calling “Dada!” in an excited voice. Switching the light back on and peeking in, he saw Abby wiggling her fingers in the air—her sign for “stars.” He looked around in vain for any stars and simply settled her down again. But then, as he switched off the light and took one last peek into the room, he realized what Abby had seen. The ceiling was covered with fluorescent stars! Invisible with the lights on, the stars appeared as if by magic as soon as they were off. “You’re right! There are stars!” said her dad as he lifted her up to touch them. What a shame if Dad had missed the chance to share his daughter's excitement.

Babies want to tell those they love that they see things that amaze them—like Abby’s stars. They want to request to read a book, to blow bubbles, or to swing on a swing. Providing babies with signs for these things, as we do in the Baby Signs® Program, gives them a chance to share their worlds with adults—and gives adults an amazing window into the infant mind.


Happy Signing! (and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, The Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Premies Once; Healthy 2-Year-olds Today!

Anyone who’s been following this blog is aware that I often use my twin grandchildren, Nate and Olivia, to illustrate my messages about child development. Well, here I go again. This time I’m using them to celebrate the amazing progress that’s been made in helping so many premature babies not only survive but thrive.

You see, Nate and Olivia arrived in this world 2 months before they were supposed to. By today’s premie standards they were robust at 3 pounds, but as we gazed at them in the NICU (which we quickly learned to call the “nik-you”), it was hard to believe they would ever be the happy and healthy toddlers they are today. To the right you’ll see what had us so concerned. This is a photo of Nate taken on Day 1. Having myself given birth (25 years ago) to a 10.5 pounder, I was sorely shaken to see this tiny creature so encumbered with tubes and monitors.

Those of you who have had similar experiences with the NICU know that Day 1 is just the beginning. For Nate it lasted 6 weeks and for Olivia over 2 months, every day filled with concerns about breathing, heart rates, and feeding problems in the short term and lasting effects on development in the long term. During this whole time, Mom (Julie) devotedly pumped breast milk to be lovely fed (once the feeding tubes were removed) by the incredibly kind NICU nurses at night and Mom and/or Dad during the day. The trek to and from the hospital—nearly 50 miles round trip—became so routine that we all could have have been on auto-pilot!

But that was then and this is now: I’m proud to say that we will are celebrating Nate’s and Olivia’s 2nd birthday today, May 16. And “celebrating” is definitely the right term given how much we have to be grateful for! Check out the picture below the “Day 1” photo to see what those premies look like today.

Happy Signing (and don't forget to visit us on Facebook)!

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder of the Baby Signs®
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Department of Defense Gives Baby Signs® Program a Thumbs Up!

We’ve known for years that the Department of Defense (DoD) loves the Baby Signs® Program. Thanks to the cover story in this month’s issue of Exchange Magazine (the official magazine of the National Association for the Education of Young Children) describing the programs the DoD provides for families, the rest of the early childhood education community now knows it as well! The article is an interview with Barbara Thompson, a high-ranking official within the Pentagon. When asked to list the types of services provided to families by the DoD, the Baby Signs® Program was the only non-military program included. Going well beyond simply naming the program, Thompson elaborated in the following way:

“Baby Signs®. In 2007, the DoD enthusiastically embraced the Baby Signs® Program at selected pilot sites across the Department of Defense. Focusing on language and cognitive skills, the program gives infants and toddlers a way to communicate before they can express themselves verbally by providing them with the signs they can use most easily to communicate their needs, thoughts, and feelings. The training formally introduced DoD trainers to the Baby Signs® Program and allowed them to brainstorm ways to successfully implement the program and provided educational resources and support materials to staff and parents.”

This endorsement of the Baby Signs® Program by the DoD is wonderful validation of our company’s long-running efforts to support military families, efforts that continue today with a special page of our website dedicated to information and discounts for military families.

It means a great deal to us to know that the DoD holds our program in such high esteem because everyone associated with the Baby Signs® Program is keenly aware of the debt of gratitude we owe to the dedicated men and women who serve our country and the sacrifice made by the families they leave behind.

If you’d like to learn more about how the DoD is serving military families, check out the Exchange article.

Happy Signing (and don't forget to visit us on Facebook!)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, the Baby Signs® Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Sex Differences Prevail!

I’ve written before about how, despite the all the hype given to the advantages of rearing little boys and little girls alike, parents—and children—still seem to find themselves spontaneously drifting towards traditional, sex-sterotyped ways. This fact is making itself particularly apparent to me as I observe my twin grandbabies—Nate and Olivia—develop. I’m including two photos I recently took that help make my point.

The first illustrates how toddlers themselves make stereotyped choices. In it you’ll see Olivia holding one of her favorite toys—a baby doll—and Nate holding one of his—a police car. Those of you who have been following this blog for awhile will remember that I talked about this difference around Christmas time in terms of the “truck gene.”

The second photo illustrates a different point. In this picture you’ll see the results not of the children’s predilections, but of their parents’! This photo was taken at an Easter Egg Hunt this past weekend. As usual, it was a hectic morning with the added pressure of getting to the event by 11AM sharp. In situations like this, with twins involved, a division of labor becomes necessary. In this case, that division took the form of Mommy dressing Olivia and Daddy dressing Nate. The photo shows the result: Two toddlers holding hands and romping through the grass—Olivia all dolled up in a pretty dress with brand new matching sandals and Nate in a comfortable and highly practical flannel shirt and jeans. Need I say more?!

By the way, even though each of their verbal vocabularies is blossoming at an absolutely amazing rate, they still find themselves signing upon occasion. This time it took the form of the sign “MORE” accompanied by a very wistful look up at Papa and Grammy when, having arrived a little too late to the Easter Egg Hunt, all the eggs were already gone! Oh well, there’s always next year.

Happy Signing! (And don’t forget to follow up on Facebook!)

Linda
Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-Founder of the Baby Signs® Program
And
Professor Emeritus of Psychology, UC Davis

Doggone It!

A recent twitter that appeared on this page extolled the virtues of signing, not with babies, but with dogs. Usually what this comment is referring to is the ability of dogs to understand hand commands to do things like sit, come, lay down, stay, etc. In some cases, these few are just the tip of the iceberg and owners report comprehension of many, many more signs.

Of course, as helpful as this ability is, it can’t hold a candle to what babies are capable of doing with signs. It’s hard to imagine a dog spontaneously signing “cat” when seeing a cat on a window sill, or spontaneously signing “sad” upon hearing another dog howl, or spontaneously combining the signs for “airplane” and “fan” when a helicopter suddenly appears overhead. And yet, these are just a few of the ways babies routinely use signs.

That said, my ears always perk up when I hear someone mention signing and dogs. The reason is that it reminds me of the day Dr. Susan Goodwyn and I (as co-authors of the book Baby Signs) appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. It was, of course, tremendously exciting—all the way from 6:30 AM when a limo picked us up at our Chicago hotel, through the 4 hours in the “Green Room” getting hair and make-up done and simply waiting for the taping to actually start, and finally through the approximately 90 minutes of taping necessary to produce the footage that would finally be used in the show. Whew! We were drained by the end, but things had gone very well.

Another guest on the show didn’t fare as well, however. His name escapes me, but what I do remember is that he was a beautiful dog! His role on the show was to demonstrate just what we’ve been talking about here—that dogs are great at responding to sign language. The problem, however, was with the long stretch of time leading up to the grand moment when the dog and owner were seated on the stage in front of the audience. All the excitement, unfortunately, had been too much for the dog and all he wanted to do was sleep; he wouldn’t do anything! Needless to say, that segment never made it into the final cut. Susan and I felt so sorry for the owner!

Which brings me to the photo I’ve posted with this blog entry. To the right you’ll see my own favorite signing canine, Divot. (Obviously, I’m a golfer.) Divot comprehends a good number of hand signs and even some important words—like “dog park.” I’m not so sure, though, if she performs any signs, that is unless it counts that when I do say “dog park,” she jumps up and down like a jumping bean!

(By the way, this whole blog entry was so I’d have an excuse to post this picture. Is she cute with her “Baby Signs” T-shirt or what!?).

Happy Signing! (And don’t forget to visit us on Facebook.)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder of the Baby Signs^® Program

and

Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

Baby Sign Language and Learning to Talk

By far the most frequently voiced concern about encouraging babies to use signs to communicate before they can talk is that doing so will slow down verbal development. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Baby sign language actually speeds up the process.

How do we know? With a grant from the federal government, Dr. Susan Goodwyn and I compared verbal development in babies using the Baby Signs Program with that of non-signing babies. In test after test the babies who signed were more advanced than the non-signers in language skills. (The published study from the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior is available on our Baby Signs web site-- www.babysigns.com).

We really weren’t surprised because we had already observed the following ways in which baby signing spurs language skills.

1. Signing is to talking as crawling is to walking. In other words, just as crawling excites babies about getting around even faster by walking, the excitement of being able to communicate with signs motivates babies to figure out ways to communicate better—and the most obvious way is with words.
   

2. The experience of baby signing teaches babies useful lessons about how language works (like using symbols to label objects, etc.). These lessons speed up the process of learning to talk once words are finally available.

3. The natural reaction to a baby’s use of a sign is to “bathe” the child with words, and the more words a child hears, the faster he or she will learn to talk. What’s more, signs enable babies to pick the topic of conversation, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will listen attentively to the words parents say.

4. Every time a baby successfully uses a sign to label something, circuits in the brain are strengthened; circuits that then make learning words easier.

5. Signing makes book-reading more fun for babies because they can actively participate, and book-reading increases a baby’s exposure to vocabulary items.

So, the next time someone suggests that your use of the Baby Signs® Program is going to keep your child from talking, just smile knowingly, roll your eyes, and say “Oh, that old wive’s tale!”

Happy Signing! (and don't forget to follow us on Facebook!)

Linda

Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.

Co-Founder, the Baby Signs Program

and

Professor Emeritus, UC Davis

.