Favorite Signs for Easter & Our Favorite Goodies to Add to Baby’s Basket

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Easter is just around the corner and many daycares, churches and playgroups are hard at work introducing their babies to the signs of the season. Whether you are teaching your baby an Easter song or getting him ready for the egg hunt we wanted to share with you a few resources and activities that we are already using at our home.

The Egg Memory Game

We printed mini versions of our favorite animal flashcards and inserted the printout inside plastic eggs. We placed a variety of plastic farm and jungle animals in a basket and we are working with our toddlers by letting them find the egg practice the sign and match the plastic model in our animal basket.

The Signs of the Season

These are the signs we are practicing: (you can go to the free printable page by clicking on the word).

Egg

Bunny

Duck

Chicken

Dress

Basket

Jesus

Find

Flower

Grass

Candy

Church

What We Are Including in Our Baby Easter Baskets:

The Waddle & Go Ducky by Tomy

 

The Baby Sign Language Flash Card Set

 

The Chicken and Egg Stackers

Feel free to comment with your own suggestions for baby Easter baskets!

 

Happy Birthday 111 Dr. Seuss!! Check out the Best Dr. Seuss Books for Babies List

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Today marks the 111th birthday of one of the most beloved children’s authors. We love word-play is transferred from one generation to another. If you are the mommy or daddy of a baby or toddler we want to share a list of our favorite starter books by Dr. Seuss. These books lend themselves to read-alongs with signing. Enjoy & share

The Cat in the Hat Cloth Book

The Many Mice of Mr. Brice

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

The Dr. Seuss’s ABC

Sneetches on Beaches

All Aboard the Circus McGurkus

Do You Like Green Eggs & Ham?

Dr. Seuss Sleep Softly Book

Wet Pet, Dry Pet, Your Pet, My Pet

Oh Baby! Go Baby!

A Tree for Me

Many of the signs to use when reading Dr. Seuss are part of our dictionary and flash card set available with our baby sign language kit. You can also print specific baby signs using our collection of free printable flash cards.

 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! 

Yes! Baby Sign Language Kits & Resources Can Be Shipped Internationally. $19.95 Flat Fee!

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At least a few times every week we get messages from loyal friends around the world who are currently enjoying our baby sign language free printable resources and wish to upgrade to a full Baby Sign Language Kit. The question is always the same (just insert your own country) Do you ship the baby sign language kits internationally?

 

Whether you live in Australia, South Africa, China, The Middle East and pretty much any country around the world with a reliable national post you can trust we will make every effort to ship baby sign language kits worldwide. Our goal is to secure the most economical means to ship your kit or baby sign language resources which means on occasion shipment may take a little longer than usual.

Shipping of baby sign language resources to some countries can be as low as $19.95!!

Here is the step by step to find out the shipping costs for your specific country:

Go to the store and pick your favorite baby sign language product.

Place your product of choice in your cart

Select calculate shipping in the bottom right enter your country from the dropdown and key in your city and zip code. Some countries don’t use zip code in such case leave it blank. Now click on update totals.

Now you are ready to checkout!

Now head to our store and take a look at our most popular bundles. Moms around the world tell us they are able to enjoy the kits from birth up to four years of age!

Click Here to Visit Our Store

Getting Ready to go Back to Work? Learn How Baby Sign Language Can Help You Transition

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Yesterday I spoke to a beautiful new mom who happens to be in book club. She had her little one in tow and I could not help it notice she had transitioned from joining us in yoga pants to a dressier look. After I had complimented her on her beautiful silk top (You know the long-tunic-like blouses that are so flattering as mama figures change) she mentioned that after a one year maternity leave she was back to the workforce part-time and feeling just a little anxious. Another mom joined our conversation and I could not help it but admire her poise and confidence when it came to encouraging others and giving practical tips. I was also delighted to hear how she has used baby sign language as a transitional communicational tool when getting ready to send her babies to daycare. Among many really great tips I was able to glean these ideas that I now share with you trusting they will help when the time comes for you to head back to the office.

First & Foremost Teach Your Child About Confidence
From the moment you bring baby from the hospital engage in routines that provide your little certainty about their safety, provision and having their voice heard. Through teaching your baby basic baby signs and acknowledging the sign through gratification you are showing your little one how communication equips us to have our needs met and gives us the freedom to walk in confidence that we can approach the adults that care and convey our needs with certainty that they will do what it takes to meet baby at the point of their need. A child that is confident in how he or she relates with their caregivers will have a more calmed demeanor and will transition better into daycare. As you work with your baby to teach him or her their first signs involve the extended family to reinforce the idea that gestural communication goes beyond mommy and daddy.
Consider Working on Signs That Meet Basic Needs
Sometimes motherhood can be fun and whimsical and we are tempted to teach our baby fun signs that will not necessarily meet a basic need. I recall a little baby girl in my neighborhood that was able to sign butterfly, fan and boat way before learning how to sign milk and more. She had learned most of her signs by watching signing DVDs so she had the option to pick the ones she loved the most. When you are working with your baby and getting them ready to transition to daycare make sure the signs you select and driven by the desire to meet their basic needs from being hungry to being cold, sleepy or hurting. Having a needs-based signing vocabulary will be very helpful once baby transitions to group care.
Create a Code of Love
Babies thrive in familiarity and routine. Aside from the basics pick a sign or two aimed at conveying love and tenderness to your little one. From signing ILU to signing hugs from a distance after dropping your little one at daycare having a code of love can give your little one a sense of security and continuity through visual feedback.
Use Signs in Song to Soothe Separation Anxiety
Music is essential in the emotional and intellectual development of your baby. Pick songs that comfort your little one and provide continuity. Include a few relevant and easy signs. If at all possible let your caregiver know about your songs of choice and ask the caregiver to use the songs when managing your baby’s stress and anxiety.
This is our favorite song and the one we have used as the “sign for comfort” song:

Work on Signs that Make Mornings Easier
Once you are back in the workforce and your baby is turning into a toddler work on learning signs that make the morning routine easier. Think about the signs that will help your baby eat, take a bath and get dressed so you can both leave the house on time.

If you know a mom who is about to go back to work share this website with her or why not send her the baby sign language kit to help her in this very special life transition.

Three Indoor Activities to Help Your Baby Learn New Baby Signs

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With record-breaking cold weather and snow I know many moms & dads can’t wait for better weather to arrive so we can engage on outdoor activities conducive to learning. If you have been struggling with cabin fever and your baby is not quite old enough to go outside and play in the snow let’s look at a few indoor activities aimed at helping your little one improve and reinforce their baby signing skills and learn new vocabulary.

Sing and Sign

From a very early age babies are responsive to music and rhythm. Multimedia such as the Baby Signing Time Collection can help your baby understand concepts by receiving visual feedback and easy to recall language patterns. Because response to sound is one of the very first things we learn a baby who is learning how to sign by using age appropriate songs will also benefit from:

  • Improved concentration and recall.
  • Speech & language development.
  • Image to sound association. Particularly related to animal and object onomatopoeia.
  • Better grasp of rhythm and pattern.
  • Social response.

When using song to teach signs to your baby or toddler there is no need to sign every single word. Focus on nouns first then incorporate verbs that are relevant to the child’s developmental stage. Because motor response is slow selecting just a few signs in association with each song will reduce frustration.

Topical Make-Believe & Models

Life is busy and exposing baby to new experiences can be time and cost-intensive. Perhaps your family is in no position to visit a farm or head to the ocean but you know your baby needs to develop awareness and vocabulary associated to different settings. To overcome this hurdle why not secure themed toys such as a little collection of plastic farm animals or if you are crafty why not create an aquarium in a bucket using plastic fish. Engage in play by showing your baby or toddler behaviors, and sounds associated to each animal or object. Models & toy sets are also great to bring dimension to reading activities or baby sign language flash cards.

Reading & Board Books

Babies are highly visual and always show great interest in books. Select books that expose your baby and toddler to vocabulary expansion opportunities and work on adding one or two signs each week from the same book. If your baby is under a year old look for board books that introduce your little one to texture, sound and color in order to help him or her develop their senses and motor skills.