Signing Smart with Babies and Toddlers A Parent's Strategy and Activity Guide

by Anthony, Michelle, M.A., Ph.D.; Lindert, Reyna, Ph.D.

• ISBN13: 9780312337032
• ISBN10: 0312337035
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-01
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

A Fun, Easy Way to Talk with Your Baby Babies can communicate with their hands long before they can speak. Using American Sign Language (ASL), Dr. Michelle Anthony and Dr. Reyna Lindert have created the simple and successful Signing Smart system to teach parents how to integrate signing into everyday life with their hearing children. Through the more than seventy activities presented in this book, parents will learn the tools and strategies they need to understand how to introduce signing and build their child's sign and word vocabulary. Using ASL signs and Signing Smart with hearing infants and toddlers has many benefits, including: reducing frustration and tantrums allowing children to express what they need or want facilitating speaking fostering communication and promoting learning By using these practical, easy-to-learn methods, parents and babies-from as young as five months old to preschool age-can "converse" through signs at mealtime, bath time, playtime, or anytime. Featuring the Signing Smart Illustrated Dictionary, with 130 signs.

Author Biography

Michelle Anthony, M.A., Ph.D., and Reyna Lindert, Ph.D., are child development researchers and educators. They founded Wide-Eyed Learning, LLC, which teaches parents and educators the Signing Smart approach to using ASL signs with hearing babies and toddlers. They live with their husbands and signing children in Centennial, Colorado, and Beaverton, Oregon, respectively.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
A Note to Readers	xiii
Introduction	xv
Get Ready, Get Set, Go . . . On Your Way!	1	(44)
PART I Signing Smart Activities for Every Day	45	(56)
Diaper and Dressing Activities	46	(10)
Mealtime Activities	56	(18)
Bathtime Activities	74	(12)
Bedtime Activities	86	(15)
PART II Signing Smart Activities for Play	101	(91)
Floor-Time Play	102	(32)
Active Play	134	(20)
Pretend Play	154	(20)
The Magic of Signing Smart---Encouraging Little Minds and Strengthening Young Families	174	(18)
Appendix 1: The Signing Smart Illustrated Dictionary	192	(16)
Appendix 2: Likely Child Versions of Each Sign	208	(8)
Appendix 3: Additional Resources for Parents and Baby Sign Language Instructors	216	(4)
Appendix 4: Frequently Asked Questions by Topic	220	(3)
Notes	223	(1)
Index	224	(4)
About the Authors	228