A great book to read to your students in the classroom or child at home is If you’ll be my Valentine by Cynthia Rylant. The text rhymes throughout the book, making it ideal for young readers, as it flows easily. On each page, a young boy asks different things he loves to be his valentine, including his teddy bear, sister, parents, and more. He tells them what he will do if they agree to be his valentine. The story will not only help with sign language, but also teach children how to be kind and affectionate this Valentine’s Day.

You will only need to learn and teach one sign for this story: Valentine. To do so, start with your hands open and palms facing toward you. Then, draw the outline of a heart starting at the top with your middle fingers. Every time you read the word valentine aloud, sign along as well. Teach the sign to your students or child, so they can sign with you when they hear the word. Valentine is repeated on each page, so this will keep them more engaged as they anticipate the next word and pay close attention to what you are saying.

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This Valentine’s Day, I have a fun song to share that you can sing and sign with your students or little ones at home. Not only will they be learning sign language, but it will also allow them to actively participate by using gross motor skills. This is just another way to ensure they will remain engaged in the activity.

You will only need to learn and teach one sign for this fun activity: Valentine. To do so, start with your hands open and palms facing toward you. Then, draw the outline of a heart starting at the top with your middle fingers. Each time the world valentine repeats in the song, you and your students or children should sign it as well.

The song is sung to the tune of “Do You Know the Muffin Man” and the lyrics are as follows:

Will you be my valentine?
My valentine, my valentine
Will you be my valentine?
And jump around with me

Will you be my valentine?
My valentine, my valentine
Will you be my valentine?
And skip around with me

In this example, I used jump and skip as movement words. When these words are sung, you and your students or child should act out the word. You can continue to sing the verse using any different gross motor movements you can think of to add. Some others I suggest are sneak, tip toe, twirl, or hop. Most importantly, have fun!

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com.

With all the rain and snow coming down this season, I have a great song and movement activity you can teach to your children at home or students in the classroom. Children will have a blast singing and signing as they get to move around for this activity.

For this particular song, I suggest you sign the words rain and snow. To sign rain, start will your hands held high and keep your fingers straight as you bring them down. To sign snow, start will your hands held high and wiggle your fingers as you bring them down, as if snowflakes are falling.

The lyrics are as follows:

First a little raindrop hits the ground
Tap, tap
Then another raindrop hits the ground
Tap, tap
Then another and another
And another and another
And pretty soon we heard a different sound
Splash, splash (stomp feet)

First a little snowflake hits the ground
Tap, tap
Then another snowflake hits the ground
Tap, tap
Then another and another
And another and another
And pretty soon we heard a different sound
Squish, squish (stomp feet)

At the end of each verse, when you sing either “splash, splash” or “squish, squish,” have the children stomp their feet. The extra movement will keep them more involved and excited to participate. Teach this at home or in the classroom to add a little more enjoyment to a rainy or snowy day!

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com.

I’d like to introduce a great activity for the winter season. This can be done with your children at home or with students in the classroom. Children will have fun moving around and being active while learning sign language.

For this song, I suggest you sign the word snowman. To do so, first make the sign for snow, which is to start with your hands held up and wiggle your fingers as you bring your hands down, as if snowflakes are falling to the ground. Follow this by the sign for man, which is to touch your thumb to your forehead and then chest, keeping your hand open.

The following are the lyrics to “Dance around the Snowman,” which is sung to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush:”

This is the way we dance around
Dance around, dance around
This the way we dance around
Our snowman in the morning

This it the way we hop around
Hop around, Hop around
This is the way we hop around
Our snowman in the morning

This is the way we sneak around
Sneak around, sneak around
This is the way we sneak around
Our snowman in the morning

You can replace the words dance, hop, and sneak with any other movement activities, such as jump or skip. I have used this with students in the past and they have enjoyed this song and activity. They are more engaged since they are up and active, and the repetition helps them learn and practice the sign for snowman.

I have a FREE Video Revealing my #1 Secret to Drastically Minimizing Baby’s Crying and Temper Tantrums, at www.babysignlanguageonline.com

Babies and toddlers already enjoy when you sing to them and when they can sing along as well. Adding signs to songs that you are already singing with your child will make songs more enjoyable for them and they will be learning signs as well. I suggest signing some words from “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” This is probably a song you are already singing with your child or students, and by adding signs, children will learn words more quickly and understand their meaning more easily.

Here are some of the words I suggest signing while singing this song (and the signs for them):
Twinkle- Start with your hands low in front of you and wiggle your fingers as you lift your hands up and apart (actually the sign for “shine”)
Star: Place your two pointer fingers side by side and alternate pointing up
Wonder: Rub your pointer finger in circles on the side of your forehead
Up Above: Lay your hands flat on top of each other and then lift top one up
World: Make the letter ‘W’ with both hands by holding your 3 middle fingers out. Start with one hand over the other and then form a circle around your bottom hand with your top hand and place it back on top
Diamond: Point to your ring finger
Sky: Show the sky with your hand in the air above you

When you see the lyrics below, you’ll notice I do not sign every single world in the song. It is best to only pick out key words in each line so your child sees these most important signs.

Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are

The next time you sing this to your baby (or preschool class), go ahead and add a few signs. If you do this repetitively, you will soon notice that your baby will start signing and singing along with you.

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums through sign language, which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com

Let me know what other songs you’d like me to videotape for you!

Story time with your child can be even more engaging when you incorporate American Sign Language signs while you are reading. You will be helping your child learn to communicate better and they will have fun while doing so. I have always enjoyed the book Time for Bed by Mem Fox. I have read and signed this book with my daughter and think it is a wonderful bedtime story. I also currently read it to baby classes and pre-school classes that I teach.

“Bed” and “sleep” are two words that repeat throughout the book that I suggest you sign with your child. To sign “bed,” put your palms together and rest your head on your hands as if you were sleeping. To sign “sleep,” bring your open hand down over your face and close it near your chin. As your hand closes, lay your head to the side and close your eyes as if you are sleeping.

If you know more words, you can sign those as well. It will not overwhelm or confuse your baby if more signs are used. The most important aspect is that you are consistent. I find it to be helpful to only use these two signs to begin with in order to maintain consistency. This is how your child will come to recognize and understand signs and their meanings. You can add more signs gradually as your child becomes more familiar with these words.

In this story, each page shows a different animal at bedtime. The first few pages repeat “It’s time for bed” and it soon changes to “It’s time for sleep.” These words repeat on every page, so the repetition will help your baby to recognize the signs more quickly. The illustrations on each page are an added visual element. You can begin to add animal signs and the other bedtime words in the book later on as well.

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com

Babies and toddlers already enjoy when you sing to them and when they can sing along as well. Adding signs to songs that you are already singing with your child will make songs more enjoyable for them and they will be learning signs as well. I suggest signing some words from “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” This is probably a song you are already singing with your child or students, and by adding signs, children will learn words more quickly and understand their meaning more easily.

Here are some of the words I suggest signing while singing this song (and the signs for them):
Twinkle- Start with your hands low in front of you and wiggle your fingers as you lift your hands up and apart (actually the sign for “shine”)
Star: Place your two pointer fingers side by side and alternate pointing up
Wonder: Rub your pointer finger in circles on the side of your forehead
Up Above: Lay your hands flat on top of each other and then lift top one up
World: Make the letter ‘W’ with both hands by holding your 3 middle fingers out. Start with one hand over the other and then form a circle around your bottom hand with your top hand and place it back on top
Diamond: Point to your ring finger
Sky: Show the sky with your hand in the air above you

When you see the lyrics below, you’ll notice I do not sign every single world in the song. It is best to only pick out key words in each line so your child sees these most important signs.

Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are

The next time you sing this to your baby (or preschool class), go ahead and add a few signs. If you do this repetitively, you will soon notice that your baby will start signing and singing along with you.

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums through sign language, which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com

With Thanksgiving coming up in just a few weeks, I thought it would be great to share a great Thanksgiving song that you can sing and sign with your child or pre-school classroom. For this particular song, you will need to know the following signs:

Thanks– Bring your hand from your chin and direct it towards the person you are thanking.
Thankful– This will be the same as “thanks,” but use both hands
Sun– Make a circle in the air above you and then open your fingers to point down on you like the sun’s rays
Moon- Make a crescent shape with your pointer finger and thumb next to your eye and extend it out toward the sky
Friends– Link your pointer fingers together and again the other way
Family– Sign the letter F with both hands by making a circle with your pointer finger and thumb. Then, form a circle in front of you with your hands
See– Bring your pointer and middle finger out from near your eye

This song is sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:”

“Let’s Be Thankful”
Thank you for the sun so bright
Thank you for the moon at night
Thanks for friends that play with me
Thank you for my family
Thanks for all that I can see
I am thankful yes indeed

This is a fun song to sing during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Children will have fun singing the song and they will be learning more signs as well.

Remember that I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com.

To see some other Thanksgiving signs, visit this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRua_Jpy79U

Happy Thanksgiving! -Kim

Story time with your child can be even more engaging when you incorporate American Sign Language signs while you are reading. You will be helping your child learn to communicate better and they will have fun while doing so. I have always enjoyed the book Time for Bed by Mem Fox. I have read and signed this book with my daughter and think it is a wonderful bedtime story. I also currently read it to baby classes and pre-school classes that I teach.

“Bed” and “sleep” are two words that repeat throughout the book that I suggest you sign with your child. To sign “bed,” put your palms together and rest your head on your hands as if you were sleeping. To sign “sleep,” bring your open hand down over your face and close it near your chin. As your hand closes, lay your head to the side and close your eyes as if you are sleeping.

If you know more words, you can sign those as well. It will not overwhelm or confuse your baby if more signs are used. The most important aspect is that you are consistent. I find it to be helpful to only use these two signs to begin with in order to maintain consistency. This is how your child will come to recognize and understand signs and their meanings. You can add more signs gradually as your child becomes more familiar with these words.

In this story, each page shows a different animal at bedtime. The first few pages repeat “It’s time for bed” and it soon changes to “It’s time to sleep.” These words repeat on every page, so the repetition will help your baby to recognize the signs more quickly. The illustrations on each page are an added visual element. You can begin to add animal signs and the other bedtime words in the book later on as well.

Remember, you can find out more information about signing with your baby on my website. I have a free video where I reveal my #1 secret on how you can drastically reduce your baby’s crying and temper tantrums which you find at www.babysignlanguageonline.com

What bedtime stories do you love to read with your baby?

American Sign Language signs have shown to be helpful in increasing communication among children and helping with their learning abilities. It can also be a fun way to interact with your child or students. They are learning better communication, while having fun. Songs are a great way to get children involved and excited about learning signs.

Bubbles are very popular among young children. You can integrate this fun activity into a song. For this song, you will need to sign bubbles, ocean/sea, rainbow, and come back. To sign bubbles, open and close your pointer fingers and thumbs while moving your arms upward as if the bubbles are floating. Ocean and sea are the same sign. You will form a W with your three middle fingers and touch your hand to your chin (the sign for water). This is followed by making a forward wave motion with both of your hands. To sign rainbow, start with the tips of your fingers touching and then open them in opposite ways. Come back is signed by the gesture you are already familiar with and probably use frequently.

This particular song is sung to the tune of “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and here are the lyrics you can learn and teach to your child:
My bubbles flew over the ocean
My bubbles flew over the sea
My bubbles flew over the rainbow
Oh come back my bubbles to me
Come back, come back
Oh come back my bubbles to me, to me
Come back, come back
Oh come back my bubbles to me

This will be a fun song to teach at home to your child or in the classroom with students.
What activities do you integrate signing into?