Program Commonalities

The second question I want to address through this inquiry is: How do you teach babies to sign?


I read Joseph Garcia's book Sign with Your Baby which gives parents an overview of signing with babies, offers suggestions and provides illustrations of common signs.  I then explored the Sign2Me, Baby Signs and Signing Time websites to investigate the teaching methods and products they each provide. I also viewed the video Baby Sign Language Basics by Monta Briant, parent and founder of the company. I have also used and reviewed  Signing Time DVDs and the Baby Sign board books available at my local library.


Technology has provided the visual tools needed to teach sign language easily and in one's own home. Each program includes DVDs as the main instructional tool.  The Sign2Me program includes an instructional video for parents and children that teaches signs and gives information about signing. There is also a CD of songs, and flash cards available to support the signs parents are teaching children.  The Baby Signs and Signing Time programs center around DVDs that are designed for children.  These DVDs incorporate actual babies signing, animation, print words, audio and music.  Baby Signs relies heavily on animated characters that move at a slow pace, making it easy for babies to follow.  Signing Time videos are a mixture of fun animations that support the signs taught by company founder, Rachel Coleman. Baby Signs and Signing Time also have board books, flash cards and Cds. Each company has an email program that allows parents to receive free posters, weekly signs and other resources.


Monta Briant, in her video Baby Sign Language Basics, offers eight recommendations for teaching children sign language.


1. Be on the child's level so you can make eye contact.
2. Make sure that you are in the baby's field of vision so they easily see the hand motions.
3. Say the word as you make the sign.
4. Sign in context--sign about what you are seeing or doing.
5. Use appropriate facial expressions to match the sign. Don't smile when you are teaching the sign for sad.
6. Make signing a part of your daily routine.
7. Teach motivating signs. Signs that express your child's interests. For example, "train" was one of the 1st signs I used with Emma because she loves to watch the train go by our house.
8. Have fun!


The program tools (animations, people, songs, written and spoken words) and suggestions for teaching babies signs reflect the inquiry process and life-long learning skills.  Callison (2006) writes that "Media merge to create multimedia, where written, spoken, and visualized images bring both improved clarity and new complexities to the communication process." The DVDs created to teach baby sign language combine various elements to address different learning styles and stimulate children's senses.  When I was nine years old I wanted to learn sign language. We had a book, The Joy of Signing, that had illustrations of hundreds of signs.  I would spend time choosing signs, mimicking the pictures and trying to teach them to my younger siblings.  I was able to learn some and my interest was piqued. However, it was not engaging enough to make a very lasting impression. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) state that "...enduring understandings answer the question, "What do we want our students to understand and be able to do several years from now, after they have forgotten the details" (qtd. in Donham, 2010). Advancements in technology make teaching and learning sign language easier, fun and engaging. The use of visual, audio and tactile (making the hand positions) senses allows children to engage in the learning process. And though many children stop signing when their verbal skills are fully developed, I believe they will have gained skills and knowledge that will carry over into later learning and life experiences.


Here are  preview clips from the Baby Signing Time, Baby Signs and Sign2Me programs.

Baby Signing Time 
"Here We Go"

Baby Signs--Eat

Clips from Sign2Me instructional video by Joseph Garcia

When teaching children sign language it is important to remember that, "Each sign is made up of four parts. They are handshape, hand movement, location, and position of palm. The looks you make with your face while signing are also very important" (Lowenstein, 2004). As you can see, these videos make it easy to learn and imitate signs by clearly demonstrating hand shape, movement and location, the palm position and appropriate facial expressions. When signing with your own children keep these 5 guides in mind.

Lowenstein, F. (2004). All About Sign Language: Talking with Your Hands. Enslow Publishers, Inc.