Baby sign language - don't stop signing!

[CookieMama90]

How do you manage to teach a child that young how to sign AND write? I want to be sure to do this right for my children.

[Jesus2010Freak]

Is 4 months old too young to start baby sign?

[SmartHandsCA]

@Jesus2010Freak no, that's when I started with both my kids. My son started signing back at 6 months and my daughter at 9.5 months.

[streetloveq8]

she is smart girl ,,,, very cute

[mansuperthatoh]

She has better handwriting than me!

[shaacale]

i love the mom how she loves her child <3

[mikeybaby4eva]

that funny i learned sign language when i was 2 years old because of my hearing disability.

[DeafTuber]

Amazing!! And even more so fascinating seeing her read and write, but is her ability to READ fingerspelling!! That had my eyes popping out!

Laura, you and Fireese make an incredible team (and signing duo!), and I'm so happy I get to see these videos. I will be putting this video onto the toddler sign language page! toddler-sign-language dotcom

(It should be up before you see this message!)

Way to go, Fireese!!! School may even very well be a breeze for you!!! :-)

[sbear4000]

but thats not how u spell granDma!!!

[SmartHandsCA]

Yes I know! But firstly, she's not even 3 and secondly, that is what she called her grama she didn't say grandma so it was a 'nickname' she used.

[DeafTuber]

@sbear4000. I now understand why u focused on an insignificant, minuscule part of this video. :-) Seeing as ur profile says u are 14, ok. But lots of people spell Grandmother differently. Some say Granma, Gramma, Gram, Gran, Grammie, Nana, etc.

The purpose of this video shows that a BABY at age 2 or 3 is able to READ letter sequences & recognize them, not only as words, but as communication options.

She is an amazing little girl, & sign language has played a huge role in this aspect. :)

[DeafTuber]

I ran out of room, but also wanted to add to the part about signing adding a huge benefit to this darling's communication, but the PERSON BEHIND IT is the even HUGER factor.

Laura has clearly taken A LOT of time, care/love, and socialization with Fireese (her daughter) and it is SO very apparent.

Wow!

The signs and spoken words she produces are amazing of course, but someone had to work with her patiently and consistently to teach her, now didn't they. :-)

[rockie18able]

u cant speak sign language u sign sign language, i know sign language

[9enine9]

omg! i'm so jealouse! i always wanted to speak sign language, but the only phrases i can say is (and.. well.. one of them is the most stupid sentence you could possibly say to a deaf person):

can you hear me?

and

I love you

are there any singing-babys-classes in germany? i would love to teach my future babys singing!!

[SmartHandsCA]

Yes, we are going to be having signing classes in Germany very soon! We are just having our manuals translate :-)

[imbetterthanyoubaby]

ahhh shes soo adorable:]

[DocoRob]

I did the baby sign language with my 9 month old daughter at 13 months she signed that she wanted more breast milk I singed she was all done and she signed ok lets get up . Lauren is now 7 as smart as anything top of the class for English .Its a really great thing for kids. by the way my child is Scottish

[lipstickshells]

I'm so jealous! I'm a mother of four (ages 1, 2, 8, 10) and I don't feel like I could ever give all my kids the encouragement and devotion that you do to your daughter :( But this has inspired me to make changes... Your daughter is beautiful, she has a great personality. :)

[Phoenix3275]

fireese is a beautiful little girl! she is going to be like a genius some day! good work =]

[OldFashionGirl1]

Some Day?

Shes already a Genius! =]

[vonKyle777]

that's great! a lot of preschoolers i know can't do that.

[NaturalyMommy]

that was awesome!

[FreshhSammyyx3]

true what mhmhu3 said she dont need school lol she a cutie//smart little girl if she goes to school she gonna be the best future girl in this world unlike them gangsta no offense they not gonna be no help :[

[bettie993]

thats amazing.. my brother is almost 4 and he is nowhere near reading and writing (even simple words).

i dont think my sister was that young either..

congratulations on teaching fireese sign language.. i think its really awesome and ill be sure to teach my kids..

keep it up :D

[xoxbesodulcexo]

How young was she when you started teaching her the signs? Is it ever too early or too late?

[SmartHandsCA]

No, it's never too early or too late! My daughter was 4 months when I started teaching her. I've taught older students in grade 8 and it even helped them :-)

[xoxbesodulcexo]

Awesome! Thanks so much. =]

[Rainy64]

@xoxbesodulcexo Signs are easy.. Alphabet is harder. Teach words they will use! "more" ":please" "Thank-you" "milk" :Mommy" "Daddy" "finish" (Also meaning all-gone-(loosely for the babies purpose) "Cookie" "bed" "No" "yes".  I should go back and teach again.... You guys have my enthusiasm back up!

[CoutureChiic]

whoa she writes neater than i do and im 14!!!! lol

[weepeoplecommunicate]

My question is then, why, if we know that children learn the most during the first 7 or so years of life, does our education system wait so long to teach them such crucial things?

This family is a living example of what happens when you choose to listen to your child instead of the "proper advice" for development.

My daughter is another example of the value of teaching ASL (Sign) from very early on. She communicates so well that sometimes we forget she is only 17 months old.

[longhairqueen2009]

I'm looking to your videos and similar ones (you and Fireese are fun and inspirational) everyday now to teach my 2 year old new signs. I am looking for rain, flowers, and I wish I could find car (he LOVES to play with cars) and truck. Is it reasonable to teach babies/toddlers to sign the alphabet before they have tons of words? Thanks

[SmartHandsCA]

I am in the process of making a signing dictionary for parents and I'm going to post all the words on You Tube as well (coming soon!)

If you google ASL dictionary you'll find a few choices to look up words right now. I always taught my daughter the alphabet. I started singing and signing it and once she could sing it I would teach her the individual letters starting slowly with just a few at a time. That's how she learned how to read :-)

[cking4689]

I am a mother of 4. Ages now: 20, 19, 10 and 9. I started teaching my children colors, abc, numbers, etc before they were 2. They all have excelled in school and my youngest 2 are on honor roll and in the accellerated classes at school. I am also trying to teach them signing. So far, they love it!! All of my children have excelled. My 10 year old was recognized by Duke University Duke Program and my 9 year old received a perfect score on the CRCT. Encourage your children. It works!!

[mhmhu3]

why should she go to schhol.. she dont need no school

[holyangel84]

omg she is so amazing very talented keep up the good word :D

[babii2c]

wow..wat an amazin little girl..shes soo cute..n very very smart!!!

[Nades129]

Hello evolution.

[VampireGal225]

your daughter is very talented

[XXONELUVXX]

Your daughter is very talented and amazing. Keep up the good work:)

[all4tubekids]

That was awesome!! Great job at signing =)

[JoniLops]

WOW! I'n a big fan of Fireese! I have a 3-year old boy and a 5-year old girl! I think I'm gonna use this little one as a model so my kids can see that signing is so cool!!!

So inspiring! Love it! All the best for 2009!!!!! :)

[booksandblades]

She's adorable and smart!

[lilkelza7]

wow amazing...

[budjazfel3]

wow that is incredible.. I hope you have the opportunity to homeschool her.. don't let her amazing gift get wasted at school!!! she will be bored in public school !! =)

[Mawieclaude]

Really beautiful and intelligent girl! I can't believe it! She is like... smarter than me! In signs language ^^ She's a future doctor ^^

[francineW1]

do you teach her words with silent letters? If so, how did you teach her that?

[SmartHandsCA]

Yes. We started with the basic words first and once she mastered that we moved on to teaching silent 'e'. We told her the 'e' makes the first letter say it's own name. We'd write cap and then cape and sound them out. Then we moved on to two vowels together. We told her when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking and says it's own name. We use a combo of phonics and whole language. She loves playing spelling games, we never force her, we let her guide the learning :-)

[taken2nite]

dude she's like 3 n she writing her name?

that's insane i'm teaching my kids how 2 sign

[roninpainbringer]

damn that a smart kid

[nannernannerbooboo]

wow i cant believe how smart your daughter is, when did you start signing with her? I've decided to start signing with my baby, she just turned 6.5 months!

[SmartHandsCA]

Thank you :-)

I started signing with her when she was 4 months but she didn't start signing back until she was 9.5 months. 6.5 month is the perfect time to start!

[KrisnShell69]

Laura,

You are truly a great mother and leader. I really look up to you, I also teach my daughter signs and I couldn't be happier with how much we both gain from it everyday. I just wanted to let you know your videos are very much appreciated. Thank you!!!

[SmartHandsCA]

Wow! Thank you so very much for saying so!!

:-)

Laura

[anika2k]

SHE IS ONE SMART BABY!

[Kronos49]

I just wanted to let you know i think what you're doing is awesome. I'm an ASL interpreting major at the university of new mexico and everyday my instructor talk about how ASL does need to be instilled in hearing youth. keep up the amazing job raising your daughter

[tubanera]

what its the best age to start the sing language?. my baby is 5 months old.

[SmartHandsCA]

You can start anytime! I'll email you an article I wrote about how to sign with your baby :-)

Laura

[JBrowneyez]

she is still very smart! i guess teaching kids how to sign is a good idea!

[allierox1]

haha lol u spelt granDma wrong.

ohh well. what a cute little girl=]

what a sweetheart!

very smart too=]

[urlost22]

I love seeing your daughter sign. My daughter turned one-year old two weeks ago and has learned and uses 30 (ASL) signs and has a verbal vocabulary of over 20 words. We are loving it.

I am now using it in my special education class and have been amazed at how fast and well my students are picking it up and using it.

[Sweethannahw]

sos so smart

[superiorANA]

your very pretty and so is your baby :-)

i'm sorry about your mom.

why do you teach babies/kids how to sign if they aren't deaf - because a loved on is?

[LeanyB]

My little girl has just turned One, and she's started signing and we're so proud of her! Her first sign was 'more' and she has a sign for 'teddy' 'singing' and 'dancing' which she uses almost every day! We're working on 'milk' at the moment, she almost has it, and we go through the alphabet every day, so she's familiar with the sounds etc.

Thanks for the initial videos you made, I can't believe how quickly Fireese is growing up, she'd gorgeous!

[KangaKucha]

hows her potty training going if you dont mind me asking?

[SmartHandsCA]

My mom just passed away recently and we owned a duplex house with her so Fireese saw her everyday. This traumatic event has put the potty training on hold until we deal with these emotions of grief. Why do you ask?

[KangaKucha]

I;m sorry to heat that, my nana passed away in 2007, so I know how it feels.

I asked cuz I hav these potty training videos that mite help out, but there wouldnt be any point to sending them if you got her trained, so thats why I asked. I just want to help out.

[SmartHandsCA]

Thanks. Where do you have potty training vids? Are they online?

[KangaKucha]

I'll send them to you.

[LAMALCRIADACOM]

i can see that she is the one that writes the words, because grandma is written how it is heard, nice job Fireese!!

[columbusniki]

Just curious if you ever thought about adding captions so deaf people can share the wonders and triumphs of Fireese? :)

[SmartHandsCA]

I am actually just learning how to use Final Cut which would allow me to add captioning. I would really like to! Great suggestion.

Laura

[LAMALCRIADACOM]

i won't get tired of watching the amazing job you are doing, you're a great mother, and don't stop doing it, no matter what other people say ;), you've done so awesome job so far, keep on that, you have all support from cabo san lucas and my family too,i've showed your videos to all my family, and my mom wishes she had seen it before, oh by the way My name is Laura Lucía Ceseña Rivera, and I'm from cabo san lucas, mexico.

[SmartHandsCA]

Thank you! I hear Cabo San Lucas is beautiful!

[LAMALCRIADACOM]

yes of course it is!!! it's full of beautiful beaches, and the water is clean and warm,i love living here

[JalousYet]

Fireese will grow up to be a very smart woman; you're doing an amazing thing with an amazing child.

And she's so CUTE

[ldj0373]

That is amazing!

[DressyJessy32]

well, i don't have a little sis to sign with, but if i did, i might try it! she is so smart, curious, and ADORABLE!

[jesmalu]

amazing! thats great!!!!!!!

[MissTruly]

She is so precious and sweet!

[bilong92]

Hey, I was actually wondering if you were going to update yesterday? I am just wondering but, Are you concerned that she will be too advanced for kindergarten?

[SmartHandsCA]

I guess I am a little concerned about that, however I am hoping there are other areas that she will benefit from in kindergarten. The funny thing is I am not sitting down and making her learn anything, she simply wants to know things and I show her. She loves coloring and spelling so that turned into how to do the words herself. I'll be curious to see where she is at in a year from now.

[Cla452]

We are curious also =D She looks lovely =DDD

[LAMALCRIADACOM]

really smart girl you got, she really loves learning new things

[CSIAddict]

she may be advanced in some areas bu it just shows how smart she is she is naturally curious

[Opheiliamath]

That is awesome! You are never to "advance" when it comes to knowledge. As long as she's having fun, the smarter, the better.

My son is 16months and I still continue to sign. My only problem is I am stuck in a rut with using the same signs! HELP?! LOL.

Thank you again.

[SmartHandsCA]

Thanks :-)

You should join our facebook group as we have tons of people who give good suggestions about where to go with signing and help with new signs!

[LAMALCRIADACOM]

of course, she will be and it is a good warning to say that be careful with that, because my little sis could read and write after kindergarden, but the teachers made her go back to the begining, and she stoped writing as she used to do

[SmartHandsCA]

Good point. I'll try and be careful of her motivation in kindergarten. I'm sure there are some areas where she'll be ahead and others that she'll be able to focus on and learn. :-)

[kelsey805]

Are you going to homeschool Fireese? I was just wondering.....

Kelsey

[SmartHandsCA]

We still aren't sure?! I guess there are pros and cons to both options. Do you have experience with homeschooling or being homeschooled?? I'd love to hear from people who do or are homeschooled.

:-)

Laura

[kelsey805]

Hey! Well, I'm actually homeschooled right now, I did go to public school until 6th grade, and I like being homeschooled a lot better....

Kelsey

[kelsey805]

Actually, yes I am homeschooled. You might like it, but I don't know. :)

Kelsey

[LeAnah20]

Thats awesome. I work with kindergardeners everyday for about an hour a day for a class at my highschool, most of those kids being 5 and 6 years old, many of them cant do half of what Fireese Can! Spelling, and writing thier names, even knowing letters. That is awesome! She is getting so big too! :)