Monta Z. Briant - Sign, Sing, and Play!: Fun Signing Activities for You and Your Baby

Also by Monta Z. Briant

BABY SIGN LANGUAGE BASICS:
Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers

Hay House Titles of Related Interest

Books

THE ADVENTURES OF LULU,
by Louise L. Hay and Dan Olmos

THE CRYSTAL CHILDREN:A Guide to the Newest Generation of
Psychic and Sensitive Children,
by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

INCREDIBLE YOU!:10 Ways to Let Your Greatness Shine Through,
by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, with Kristina Tracy

THE MOMMY CHRONICLES:Conversations Sharing the Comedy
and Drama of New Motherhood,
by Sarah Ellington and Stephanie Triplett

Card Decks

CAR GO CARDS:Fabulously Foolproof On-the-Road Activities for Fidgety Kids, from the Publishers of Parenting magazine

RAINY-DAY FUN CARDS:Easy Indoor Games and Activities Your Kids Will Love, from the Publishers of Parenting magazine

All of the above are available at your local bookstore, or may be ordered by visiting:

Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au
Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk
Hay House South Africa: orders@psdprom.co.za
Hay House India: www.hayhouseindia.co.in

Copyright 2006 by Monta Z. Briant

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: orders@psdprom.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publications (India) Pvt. Ltd.: www.hayhouseindia.co.in

Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer Design: Jenny Richards Interior photos of Monta: Greg Bertolini Photos of children: Paul Briant, Susan Zelinsky, Mike Jobe, Mike Zelinsky, and Jennifer Vignale I Love You Hand and Foot Photos: Bill Pitcher Illustrations: Diana Hocking, www.dianahocking.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005936318

ISBN 13: 978-1-4019-0767-9
ISBN 10: 1-4019-0767-9

09 08 07 06 5 4 3 2
1st printing, July 2006
2nd printing, August 2006

Printed in the United States of America

For my new little signer, Aiden, aka Mr. Personality;

my big signing girl, Sirena, who trained me
rigorously in how to sign with babies;

my wonderful husband, Paul,
the worlds greatest and most patient husband;

and my dad, Mike Zelinsky, aka His Lordship,
Lord Plywood for giving me the writing bug.

You are my inspiration!

contents

W hen I started signing with my first child, Sirena, I had no previous experience using this form of language. I was a little bit dubious about the whole ideaand many of you reading this can probably relate! The possibility of being able to communicate with my infant intrigued me, however, so I decided to give it a try.

Once my baby started signing back to me, I was ecstaticit was so incredible to see Sirena expressing her thoughts and needs in a way that I could clearly understand. I became a huge advocate of this processa baby sign language evangelist, if you willchasing down anyone pushing a stroller. Soon, I started offering classes in the San Diego area, where I live (much more efficient than stroller-chasing), and not long afterward I wrote my own book on the topic, Baby Sign Language Basics: Early Communication for Hearing Babies and Toddlers.

In the early stages of signing with my daughter, I mostly focused on communicating at mealtimes, when nursing, and occasionally during diaper changes. I soon began to get bored with this, and as a result, I decided that I needed to find more meaningful and creative ways to include signing in our daily routine. So, I started to invent a few games and activities for us to sign along with.

I was amazed by how quickly Sirena learned in the context of playtime. She appeared much more attentive when I signed to her, and began adding to her vocabulary in leaps and bounds! Soon after, when I began teaching other parents, I took this process further as I developed the curriculum to use in my classes.

Since writing Baby Sign Language Basics, weve welcomed another baby into our family: our son, Aiden. Its so exciting to be embarking on this journey again, armed with all that I learned the first time around! I have had the advantage of being able to use everything I learned the first time around, right from the start. As a result, Aiden produced his first sign at just less than six months of age, even earlier than I started signing to Sirena. At 9 months, Aiden was intermittently using more than a dozen signs, and by 14 months he was consistently signing more than 60 words and concepts in order to communicate his needs and express his interests and observations.