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Signing with Babies & Toddlers
Singing works with infants and toddlers because they have the physical ability to sign, capacity for communication, the want to learn language, the need to communicate to us their wants, needs, feelings and ideas.
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Signing with Preschool Children
Research is showing that the preschool years are vitally important to a child's learning and academic success. Signing offers parents, teachers and caregivers a proven method to provide a fun learning activity but a useful tool to meet and surpass the new requirements for increased early learning.
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Elementary School Children
For elementary schools, studies are showing that by including ASL as part of their instruction, students benefit from increased vocabulary and enhanced language skills that help to improve reading skills.
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We Sign - Frequently Asked Questions
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| Q. |
Are the We Sign DVD's and videos for Hearing Children? |
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We Sign was developed for hearing children to use American Sign Language's movements and visual nature to improve early communication, build vocabulary and language skills and improve the learning of some basic educational concepts like ABC's, Colors and Mother Goose Rhymes. Secondarily is the inclusion for deaf children that We Sign provides an opportunity for deaf and hearing children to have something they can do together. |
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Do the We Sign DVD's and videos feature American Sign Language (ASL)? |
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Yes, the We Sign video series has always been based on ASL vocabulary to be used in conjunction with spoken or sung words. We have, over the years, worked very hard to be sure the signs we used in all our songs and on our instructional tapes are ASL signs. We have also embraced ASL from the beginning because it was a structured language used by the deaf community and would be basically consistent across the country. Though we feature ASL we are not teaching ASL as a language. We are using ASL vocabulary and its movement oriented and visual nature to provide children with a fun, playful, and interactive multiple learning style approach to education. Research and Information |
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| Q. |
Does learning sign language interfere with a child developing verbal skills? |
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Studies have repeatedly shown that not only does signing not interfere with language development but actually enhances it. Children who sign are shown to have up to twice the usable vocabulary upon entering school than non-signing children. Signing gives children many more words to communicate thoughts, needs, wishes, desires and to get many more responses from those around them. It fosters language growth and develops a real enthusiasm for learning.
Using ASL is a way to augment English. Children, parents and teachers alike will be learning hand shapes and movements for spoken English words. In many cases ASL's words are Iconic, that is, they look like the word they represent. This helps everyone in remembering and recalling both spoken and signed words. |
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| Q. |
When should I begin using signs with my child(ren)? |
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You can begin using signs with children at anytime. With babies and toddlers keep in mind that the younger the child, the longer it will be before you will see them signing. You can begin with babies as young as 6 months but it will be between 10 and 14 months before you will begin to see them sign. We suggest being consistent and beginning with just a few signs that you use in your daily activities. Signs like eat, more and all done are the most popular. As your baby begins to respond to signs and sign back to you, increase the signed vocabulary to include a variety of signs. We Sign Babies and Toddlers offers on tape 1 the 30 most asked for signs for use with children and on tape 2 a collection of over 200 words that you can choose from to use with your child.
Toddlers and preschoolers love to sign and you can greatly expand signing vocabulary by adding signs to your daily life and during playful activities like singing songs, reading books and going for a walks. We Sign Play Time and Fun Time were developed to enhance vocabulary and teach lots of basic educational concepts. Children learn while singing some wonderful new and traditional songs that are appropriate for their age.
Preschoolers, kindergarteners, and early elementary age children love signing as part of their daily routines. It is fun, challenging and encourages them to learn using a variety of Multiple Intelligences. With all the demands on early childhood learning signing offers children a proven way to learn and remember vocabulary and many other educational basics. These basics are supported by We Sign ABC's, Numbers, Colors, Animals, Rhymes, Classroom Favorites and More Animals.
Older children and adults enjoy signing and singing some of the great classic songs that are incorporated into the We Sign Series. Everyone will learn lots of ASL vocabulary by participating with We Sign Patriotic Songs, Christmas Carols and Hymns and Santa's Favorite Songs.
Some signing products for children believe that the benefits end at around 3 years old. The research clearly demonstrates the opposite. Signing is a fun learning activity that you can not only use with infants and toddlers, but is also a rich learning activity you can bring to preschoolers, kindergarten and elementary age children. |
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| Q. |
What benefits do hearing children get from signing? |
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| A. |
Research studies for years has demonstrated that hearing children increase vocabulary, improve language skills, enhance motor skills, stimulate brain development, increase IQ scores and better prepares children for reading upon entering school. Singing and signing is so effective at teaching information in an entertaining way that We Sign gives all children a “Jump Start on Smart.” Click Here for More |
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| Q. |
Do I have to be fluent or know a lot about American Sign Language to be successful signing with my child? |
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Marilyn Daniels in her book Dancing with Words reports that a child benefits from the use of sign about the same from both teachers who know very little sign to signing professionals. We Sign DVD's and videos provide songs that have the signs clearly demonstrated so that in just a few minutes you can learn to sing and sign along. Once you have learned the words you can just incorporate them into daily activities. |
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| Q. |
Is this just another series of videos to plug children into and turn them into couch potatoes? |
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The We Sign video series is designed for active involvement and participation. Our goal is for children to not only watch the videos but to also move and sing along to our collection of new and traditional songs. We encourage parents, teachers and other caregivers to learn to sing and sign the songs so they can interact with children, anytime and anywhere, in a fun playful way. We Sign seeks to break with television's tradition of mesmerizing everyone into being “couch potatoes”. We Sign seeks to turn Viewers into Doers and to become energized into participating with our sing and sign along activity. |
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| Q. |
What types of songs will the children learn and can they actually sign along? |
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| A. |
The We Sign series exposes children to many well know traditional songs like: Old MacDonald; Bingo; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Wheels on the Bus, The ABC song, Yankee Doodle; The Bear Went Over the Mountain; and Jingle Bells. They will sing and sign along to other traditional songs that have been re-written to encourage more participation like: Row, Row, Row Your Boat; If You're Happy and You Know It; Train is a coming; and There's A Little Song A-Singing In My Heart. We have also assembled a wide variety of wonderful new songs by a variety of children' songwriters including: One Little Bird; The Snowman's Hat; Mixin' All My Colors; One Little Kitty and Jumping. All the songs have been slowed down to allow for children, across different age groups, to be able to sing and sign along. |
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| Q. |
Why does signing work with children? |
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| A. |
Movement and play are fundamental to learning for children. Signing encourages learning through movement. We Sign, by combining movement (signing) and songs, provides a fun, playful way for children to learn using a variety of learning styles – Physical, Visual, Oral and Musical. Young children can from as early as 8 months use their hands; the first thing they learn to really control, to communicate with words long before their verbal skills develop. Toddlers and preschoolers use the movement and songs to set to memory lots of vocabulary and basic educational concepts (ABC's, numbers, colors, animals, rhymes and more) just as we did when we learned songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider. |
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| Q. |
Why should children learn ASL over just general movement or gestures? |
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Gestures and movements are fun and participatory but by learning ASL vocabulary, you are teaching children actual words. These words are part of a real language; in fact, American Sign Language is the fourth most common language in the United States. ASL is a language that children will be exposed to on Television, anywhere in the country and even in their own neighborhoods. It is consistent and understood by millions. Gestures and movements don't provide this. |
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| Q. |
Will children with special needs benefit from these videos? |
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It has been reported to us by many different parents, especially children with Downs Syndrome and Autism, that their children have greatly enjoyed learning and playing along to the videos. In the case of Downs, we have been told that it has helped parent child communication and increased their usable vocabulary. We have also been told that the videos have been a great way for family members of deaf children or parents to learn lots of words that can be used for communication. |
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Is there research supporting the benefits for hearing children from the use of sign language. |
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For over 30 years, a variety of researchers have been studying the benefits that hearing children receive from signing. Marilyn Daniels, more recently, in her book Dancing With Words, outlines a variety of studies, including her own, demonstrating significant benefits to vocabulary and language development, memory and retention skill development, fine and gross motor skill development, brain development and more. There is also centuries of support for involving children in a movement oriented playful activity that involves music. Click Here for More
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