Skeptic Dead. Believer Born.

I had a rough morning. I had been late to baby sign language class. I had to park at the far end of the parking lot carrying Baby Boo, who at 10 months had been pushing 20 pounds. Baby Boo was fussy during class and I missed half of the experience walking around the room trying to distract her. Was she coming down with something? Teething? Colic again?

I had rushed home after class, eager to gulp down a quick lunch and pop ol' Baby Boo in the ol' crib for a the ol' past lunch nap. I thought I needed a post lunch nap myself.

Baby Boo whined to get down after eating a full lunch. "Man, this kid eats more than me. " I chuckled to myself.

Baby Boo crawled around and played contentedly for 20-30 minutes before the whining began again.

"Time for bed," I said happily signing 'bed'.

Baby Boo stopped in her tracks and Lord as my witness put her fingers to her mouth ( eat), put her fingers together and apart, together and apart ( more), and then miked the invisible cow ( milk).

"Eat....More....Milk..." I said as if translating a foreign language.

No. My eyes are deceiving me. Ten month old babies don't sign in phrases. She must be mimicking signs from class or randomly practicing signs. Afterall, she just had a full bottle and lots of food. There's no way she could still be thirsty.

I did, however, remember what my sign language teacher said about reinforcement. I reluctantly made her a bottle ....only half bottle, though. I handed it over to her and watched her gulp it down like she hadn't had anything to drink all day.

OK. This s**t works.

Skeptic dead. Believer born.

Skepticism rears its ugly Head

I have a secret.

Even after I witnessed Nathan signing 'more' in my baby sign language class I had doubt. Yes, even after my own Baby Boo signed 'fan', I still had doubt. A lingering little doubt that screamed, "You are being snookered!" at the top of its lungs.

A monkey can be trained to sign. Heck, my dog knew a sign or two. Rover, shake. Rover, point.
Wasn't this just imitation? Pavlov's dog? Good boy. Here's a biscuit?

The teacher had signed 'more music' in class and 8 month old Nathan signed 'more'. Don't all babies copy? Isn't mimicking part of learning? Are these babies really communicating? Are they exchanging ideas, expressing thought.....shooting the breeze?

I did have a few family members chuckle at my attempts to sign with Baby Boo. "Hey, let's put Junior at the head of the table. I want to hear her thoughts on the War on Terror." A cascade of laughter always followed.

Didn't I laugh, too? Didn't I think this was a tad bit silly? Training a baby to do tricks like a seal??

Hmmmmmm? Little did my inner skeptic know that her days were numbered....

My Baby's First Sign!

"Yes, that had to be it." I summed up the experience to my hubby over dinner. " That baby who signed in class must be a genius."

"A genius." My hubby agreed.

"But, I'll keep trying," I added. "Our baby is smart, too."

So, I kept trying.

"Eat?" I would place my fingers to my lips before I fed Baby Boo. "More?" I would sign as I saw her eyeing my dinner plate.

Then, one afternoon, a fleck of magic found its way into our world. We were having lunch in a family restaurant. I was summing up all I had learned in baby sign language class to my 10 year old stepdaughter.

"So, its all about reinforcement. If it looks like she is signing 'milk', you hand her a bottle. "

We both glanced at my baby in her car seat. She was gazing at something and pointing and circling her hand.

"Perfect example right there," I said. "It looks like she is doing the sign for fan. So, we reinforce."

I smiled at my baby. "Yes, Baby Boo, do you see something that looks like a fan?"

"Could it be all those ceiling fans?" asked my stepdaughter.

My breath was taken from me as I raised my eyes to the ceiling. I don't know why I didn't notice before. There must have been a dozen ceiling fans on full speed, attempting to cool the summer heat. And my darling 8 month old genius was using American Sign Language to let me know.

It was the first of many magical moments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSZfW4gVhI

Genius Baby?

I was four weeks into Baby Sign Language Class.

No signs from baby yet.

I had been busily doing my homework which consisted of simple activities to incorportate signs into everyday life. Much like my friend's "Milk? Milk?" before she gave her baby a bottle, I had sprinkled some signs through out my day. "Bath?" I scrubbed my chest before baby's nightly bubble bath. "Where's the kitty cat?" I drew invisible whiskers along my face as the cat scampered by.

I followed the teacher's advice. Keep it simple. Follow baby's interests. Lots of repetition. Incorporate it into daily events. And lots of patience. However, I was getting a little deflated signing to a silent audience. My baby seemed totally disinterested. The other parents in class seemed to be having similar experiences. My skepticism began to bubble a bit.

However, little did we know, magic was brewing as we were planting little seeds in our little ones' brains.

One magical morning took my breath away. Magic began to explode in class. We were dancing with our babies to music. The babies were laughing and bouncing as babies do. Suddenly, our teacher turned off the music, signed and said "Stop!" and we all froze. The babies looked shocked. "Do you want more music, Nathan?" Our teacher signed 'more' and 'music' to an 8 month old who seemed particularly disappointed. He immediately put his fingers together and apart, together and apart....

"He signed 'more'!!" Gasps were heard around the room.

"This is when we reinforce. OK, Nathan. Let's have more music." She signed 'more music', turned back on the music and we all continued to dance.

"It's important to recognize his sign and reinforce its meaning. We just taught Nathan that his hands can influence his world," she yelled over the music, throwing scarves over babies.

My mind was numb. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it. Yes, I watched the video clips of babies signing at the beginning of class. But, weren't these just a handful of baby signers? Genius babies? And, I highly suspected one or two were doctored clips.

Maybe Nathan was a genius, too.

That had to be it.

First day of Baby Sign Language Class

The long awaited first day of Baby Sign Language had come. I joined the circle of mothers and babies sitting on the mat on the floor, finding a place next to a familiar face. (Weren't you in Baby Gymboree?) I noticed immediately that my baby was the only baby who couldn't quite sit up yet. The class was for babies 6-12 months. My baby was not quite there yet. At only 5 months, I had rounded up. I was smiling to myself wondering if the teacher was going to check baby ID's, when in walked a small woman with curly hair stretching down her back.

"Hi, Mommies and babies!" She had the cheer of a preschool teacher, full of bubbles and song.

She sat next to me, dumped out a bag of baby toys in the center of the circle and introduced herself. The babies happily chewed on rattles and toys as she gave us details about the benefits of signing with baby, which echoed my friend' s sentiments. She cited research and shared anecdotes which seemed a bit unbelievable. She shared her passion for signing and told us how happy she was to introduce us to the world of baby sign language. Her passion began to capture my interest. I decided to give this signing thing a fair shake.

After we each took a moment to introduce ourselves and our babies, the natives began to stir. ( My baby seemed to have never ending colic.) Our teacher sensed the restlessness and took action. "Let's sing a welcome song!" Placing an enormous bear puppet in her lap, she belted out a song. After slipping her hands into the bear's gloves, the bear began to sign. His huge purple gloved hands captured each baby's attention as he signed 'hello' to each baby. Babies were laughing, adults were attempting to follow along and the mood was light.

Each week followed suit. The welcome song was followed by a bag of toys emptied on the floor. The teacher introduced the signs for the week, giving us some strategies to encourage signing at home. The pace of the class was quick and entertaining. We learned a few fingerplays and songs that incorporated the 7-10 signs of the week. Then, it was time for centers. We each took turns at stations full of puppets, toys, games and sometimes food where we practiced incorporating signs as we interacted with our baby.

The teacher always gave us clues to help with remembering the signs. "Think...a goat's beard.." she would say as she placed fingers on her chin drawing a downward triangle for the goat sign. I was beginning to memorize signs without having to use our handbook as a resource. The question was....Were the babies?

Then one day, magic happened...

http://www.signingsmart.com/

Baby Sign Language

"Milk? Milk?" My friend began flapping her hand in front of her baby's face. She looked like she was milking an invisible cow. I began to wonder if people were staring.

"Umm...What was that?" I asked.

My friend was visiting from out of town. She had a baby the same age as my own and had been a great comfort to me during my first weeks at home with baby. She was, however, prone to loopiness sometimes.

She smiled as she explained that she had been signing with her baby. She explained how signing to a young baby increases their vocabulary, enhances language and reduces frustration.

"It really can open a window into your baby's non-verbal world. Babies as young as 5 months can sign."

Get out of town. She was truly off her rocker ( pardon the pun.) Yes, I could picture a toddler signing, but not a newborn. And why would you want a hearing toddler or baby to sign? Shouldn't they be learning verbal language?

I began to snicker. " I could see my colicky baby sign. What's the sign for 'my tummy hurts' ?"

"Well, you could take a class, if ya don't believe it. Ya might have fun."

A class? They give classes for this? Will other mommies be there? Mommies with babies? Friends?

I did a quick web search and found a class starting soon in my community. I signed up immediately. I wondered how the class would be taught. How would the babies be entertained while we learned the signs? Could we bring the babies? I double checked. Yes, babies were included. I was looking forward to it.

I had no idea what a wonderful experience I was about to have.....