Baby Sign Language with Ms. Stephanie

03/02/2021

This sweet picture book explores the wonder of playing outside after it snows, as a little boy's imagination takes him on a playful adventure. Written and illustrated by Dierdre Gill. Don't forget that if you are viewing this from a web browser, you can turn on the captions by clicking on the little bumpy wheel at the bottom of the video.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

03/02/2021

Hello, friends. Back in November, I anounced that due to ongoing low attendance, I was putting my Zoom classes on indefinite hold, and would shift over to periodically releasing short video recordings with content similar to what I had done in my classes. This format allows parents, grandparents, nannies, other caretakers, and their little ones to learn in short doses at whatever time works for them, rather than having to try to be present and attentive at a set time and for a full-length class. Simultaneous with posting the announcement, I had canceled all the related event listings here on FB.

Well, it has just been drawn to my attention that the remaining canceled event listings were all recently reactivated somehow. I think it must have something to do with a major changeover FB recently made for how the "business" pages operate. So I have just gone and canceled again the handful that still remained on the calendar. But I feel so bad for those of you who I have heard were sitting there waiting for me to start a class. It is not my style to leave anyone hanging. I'm so sorry that I didn't notice sooner that the outdated event listings had been reactivated.

A new picture book read-aloud recording is coming soon! Don't forget that you can always find previous recordings under the "videos" tab on this page, as well as on my YouTube channel Baby Sign Language with Ms. Stephanie. I caption my videos on FB; you just have to enable captions if you want to see them.

Sincerely,
Stephanie

02/12/2021

With Valentine's Day coming up, we're going to sing a children's song called I'm a Little Valentine. Not surprisingly, it gets sung to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot. Don't forget that if you are viewing this from a web browser, you can turn on the captions by clicking on the little bumpy wheel at the bottom of the video.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

02/07/2021

This is a sweet and funny story about a little boy and his imaginary friend. Written and illustrated by Petr Horáček.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

01/31/2021

Please sing and sign along with me as we learn the signs for some of our favorite animals. Or instead of singing, you could make animal noises! In this lesson, we’ll learn signs for some of the many animals that walk around on dry land - such as lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! And then next month, we’ll focus on some signs for animals that live on or around bodies of water like oceans, lakes, and rivers. And the month after that, we’ll focus on signs for animals that spend a lot of their time in the sky – like birds, bees, and butterflies – as well as the creepy-crawlies that are lowest to the ground – such as snakes and bugs!

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

01/22/2021

This fun picture book reminds us that every color is for everyone. Written by Robb Pearlman, and illustrated by Eda Kaban.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

01/16/2021

This is a song about a bear hibernating in a cave over the winter. It gets sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping, or Frere Jacques. I enjoyed singing and signing along to it, and I hope you do too.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

01/08/2021

A confidence-building picture book that reminds us of the many unique qualities that can make us beautiful on the inside. What makes you beautiful? Written by David and Mutiya Vision. Illustrated by Ignacio Alcantara.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, and help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

01/04/2021

As we start a new year, I think this is a good time to go back to the basics. So let's practice signs related to basic needs that little ones depend upon us to ensure, such as food, water, hygiene, and sleep.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, ans help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

12/24/2020

Happy Holidays, friends! I'm taking a break from making a teaching video this week, as my family celebrates Christmas. I'll post a new video on Wednesday or Thursday of next week, just in time for the new year. Don't forget that you can check out last week's video if you want to see how to sign along while singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," or if you want to hang onto the spirit of Hanukkah for a bit longer, with the song "Nine Little Candles."

12/18/2020

With today being the last day of Hanukkah, we sing a sweet little song called Nine Little Candles. And then, since Christmas is coming up, we sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

12/15/2020

As we are in the midst of the fall and winter holiday season – a time when we are reminded to cherish our connections to loved ones – this is a great time to learn and practice signs related to friends and family.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

12/11/2020

This afternoon's baby sign language video of the week - which I posted below, a couple hours ago - is a lesson featuring signs related to friends and family. I've spent an infuriating three hours fighting with FB's "Creator Studio" - the interface I have to use for uploads because this is a "business" page (even though I make no profit from it) - in trying to figure out why the captions that I have painstakingly and repeatedly written into the video aren't showing up when I look at the post, even though I can see them when I'm in Creator Studio. I strive to be inclusive, but I'm admitting defeat on this one for now.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this video, as well as the previous à la carte videos I've posted since shifting away from Zoom and over to this format a month ago. I'd love to know which is your favorite among the signs you learn from today's lesson. :-)

12/04/2020

This is a sweet seasonal song that gets sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping, or Frere Jacques. I enjoyed singing and signing along to it, and I hope you do too.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

11/26/2020

A children's picture book that reminds us of the joy of preparing a meal and sitting down together with those we love. By Cathryn Falwell.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

11/20/2020

11/20/2020

A beloved classic children's picture book illustrated by Eric Carle, and written by Bill Martin Jr.

Baby sign language borrows signs from American sign language, using basic vocabulary to help you communicate with your little ones and enhance their learning. ASL is its own rich language as part of the rich culture of the Deaf community, and only a fluent and qualified ASL teacher (which I am not) should teach it.

But by incorporating signs for key words you use with your little ones every day – such as milk, potty, help – you can help them express their needs before they can communicate orally. And for older little ones who might eventually want to learn American Sign Language, baby sign language can be a fun stepping stone to get them interested in future study.

11/20/2020

Hello, everyone. Due to ongoing low attendance - and zero attendance for the past two classes - I've decided it's time to put my every-other-Friday Zoom classes on indefinite hold. But I love teaching baby sign language, so I'm not throwing in the towel yet, but simply shifting how I do things: beginning this Friday 11/20, I'm going to release (on both my Facebook and YouTube pages) a new short video by noon every Friday. This content will vary from week to week, but typically it will be one of the types of components that I usually include in class: a song, or a picture book, or practice repetition of useful vocabulary. Or something else that feels appropriate. This way, parents, grandparents, nannies and other caretakers can opt to share and learn with their little ones in short doses at whatever time works for them, rather than trying to be present and attentive at a particular time and for a full 20-30 minute class. I hope you enjoy my videos.