Multisensory learning

It's been a while since I've posted. I have been busy promoting my book, "The Complete Hawaiian Reef Fish Coloring Book"...which is now being used as a textbook in a number of Hawaii Schools as well as mainland schools. A lot of folks have said that the material is too hard for kids, but we parents know better. Young children are like sponges soaking up everything they can at an early age...Why? because their brains are developing at an astounding rate and everything that is new is exciting. My son is 2 and while he might not be able to identify all 80 species described in the book, He definitely knows the difference between a Manini, a Hawaiian whitespotted toby, and a Moorish Idol. This is because I don't underestimate his learning ability and I expose him to lots of different material (if he wants, I never force). I'm not saying my textbook is appropriate for 2 year olds who can barely hold a crayon, but I'm also not saying its not...there is something for everyone in there including college students..Why & where am I going with this on a SIGN LANGUAGE BLOG? MULTI SENSORY LEARNING IS KEY. when I developed the book I based it on the fact, that it was easier for me to learn to identify the fish when I used a multisensory approach...in this case reading & seeing (VISUAL), saying & hearing (auditory), & coloring (tactile)...so we have used multiple senses here...Multisensory learning can triple the number of connections made in the brain, thereby making learning more efficient & enhancing memory...NOW here's the Sign Language tie-in...SIGNING makes all types of learning multisensory...try it when you are teaching your child the alphabet, or reading...WOW! AND!!!!multisensory learning really helps those with learning disabilities!!!WOW again! You'll be hearing a lot more about this from me in the near future....In the mean time, don't forget to check out my older posts on how to get your baby started with sign language

Baby Signs Winner

Sarah Grossmann of Kauai is our winner of the Baby Signs Starter Kit! Congratulations!
Sarah wrote:"I really wanted to sign with my first child, but found the book
I read
about it too complicated to follow and gave up too early to see any
results.
I really have been inspired to try again with my second child by
the results
I have seen with Monika and her child. It's so neat to see them
communicate
with the signs and her son seems so centered and intelligent. I
know every
child has their "moments", but they do seem to be less frequent
when you
have some way to communicate with your child. I hope that I can
use the
baby signing videos to help foster fun learning with my children.
It's
exciting, too, that my older child is trying to sign to the baby!"

Thank you Sarah, Enjoy!

Does Your Baby Make up his own Signs?

Mine does! He always watches my husband and I to see what we are doing. When he wants chapstick, he smacks his lips (I guess he sees me rub the chapstick on with my lips). He is relentless until he gets the chapstick. There are many others which I cannot think of at the moment, but I got an email from Dion who told us: "Just wanted to send in a new sign that my 11 month old recently came up with recently. When ever my wife and I cough, he see us tap our chest and he started doing it every time he coughs. It is really cute looking at him do it." Thanks for the email Dion! Love to see what babies will make up! On that note, they love to imitate, so if you want it to be cute...BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR!
thanks again!
Always love to hear from you!

Contest Winner Announced Soon

I will announce the contest winner shortly. Thanks for your posts and entries! Sorry there have just been a lot of ads lately, will get back to the meat soon!
Aloha!

March Baby Signs Coupons and Deals

Signing Time Coupons

Purchase Baby Signing Time DVD Gift Set Vol. 1-4, and Save over 25%! Includes a bonus "Good Night Baby CD" and FREE Shipping!
Coupon Code: NONE NEEDED
Valid until March 31st

Free Baby Signs Starter Kit Contest

The folks at Baby Signs have been gracious enough to sponsor a contest to give away a free Baby Signs Starter Kit. To enter the contest, please email me with a short paragraph on why you would like to receive the kit....or you may email me with a short story of a sign that your baby has "made up". Please include your name and email address. If I like you story, I would love to post my favorites on the blog (I won't post your name or contact info), but please note whether you give me permission to post the paragraph. Winners will actually be chosen at random. In the mean time, please scroll down and take advantage of the 50% discount that Baby Signs is offering this month (January) on their starter kit. I will be running the contest until Feb. 8. 09 in order to allow my workshop attendees to participate.
email entries to Lucidhawaii@mac.com
Aloha,
Monika

Introductory Baby Sign Language Workshops

Baby Signing Hawaiian Style is offering introductory BABY SIGN LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS. The workshops will give you the resources to learn how to communicate with your little ones before they develop speech. This introductory workshop will cover the following topics: what is baby sign language, why you should sign with your baby, the benefits of signing with your child, how to get started and resources for continuation. We will also teach you a handful of useful signs so that you can get started right away. There is a $25 fee, bring your baby. Come share the joy of signing with us! The workshops will be held at the Koloa Neighborhood Center, Mon. Feb 2, 2-3:30p or Mon., March 2, 2-3:30p and at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, Mon., Feb. 2, 6:30-8p or Sat., Feb. 7, 10:30-noon. We encourage childcare providers to participate. Individuals, parenting groups, childcare facilities & church groups can also host a workshop. Email me for more info: lucidhawaii@mac.com

My baby stopped signing, what happened?

When my son was about 12 months old, he had been signing pretty regularly and then he suddenly stopped for about 3 weeks. At 13 months he began walking and then the signing resumed. Sometimes, when babies are working on new skills such as walking, they may focus all their efforts on learning the new skill. If your baby suddenly stops signing, don't give up. Allow her to work on other skills and milestones, she should resume when she is ready. Also, don't get frustrated and force anything, remember signing is a fun activity!

Product Review- Sign with your Baby DVD

Sign with your Baby - Baby Sign Language (ASL) Training Video - US DVD (Closed Captioned)
is a great tutorial for parents. There is a lot of good information about how to teach your baby to sign. They frequently review the tips throughout the DVD. They also have interviews with Doctors and speech pathologists to really drive home the benefits of signing with your baby. There is also a sign dictionary that is pretty extensive. I recommend watching this DVD, it is worth the time. However, this is not a DVD that your children may be interested in watching with you, it is more geared for adults. I will write more product reviews and include DVDs that I would recommend to watch with your baby.

Great Deal on Baby Signs Program This Month Only

We've got a great coupon deal for January: Save 50% on the Baby Signs Complete Starter Kit! (Coupon Code: SAVE50)

The Starter Kit is regularly priced at $39.95, but for the month of January, you can buy it for just $19.98. That's an amazing $20 savings on our best-selling Kit that includes a Parent Guide, Parent DVD, Baby DVD, 4 Board Books and a Flip Guide!

My baby uses the same sign for everything

I hear this a lot and it is rather common. I remember when my son was first learning to sign, he signed milk for everything. I was recently re-reading Monica Beyer's book, Teach Your Baby to Sign: An Illustrated Guide to Simple Sign Language for Babies,
when I ran accross this topic once again. She suggests that this is actually a good thing. Your baby is beginning to realize that he can use gestures for communication. Be consistent and teach him new signs to meet the needs you think he may be asking about. With my son this phase lasted for maybe a week or two. Eventually he used the appropriate signs to get what he wanted.