Story time with your child can be even more engaging when you incorporate American Sign Language signs while you are reading. You will be helping your child learn to communicate better and they will have fun while doing so.
I have always enjoyed the book Time for Bed by Mem Fox. I have read and signed this book with my daughter and think it is a wonderful bedtime story. I also currently read it to baby classes and pre-school classes that I teach. “Bed” and “sleep” are two words that repeat throughout the book that I suggest you sign with your child. To sign “bed,” put your palms together and rest your head on your hands as if you were sleeping. To sign “sleep,” bring your open hand down over your face and close it near your chin. As your hand closes, lay your head to the side and close your eyes as if you are sleeping.
If you know more words, you can sign those as well. It will not overwhelm or confuse your baby if more signs are used. The most important aspect is that you are consistent. I find it to be helpful to only use these two signs to begin with in order to maintain consistency. This is how your child will come to recognize and understand signs and their meanings. You can add more signs gradually as your child becomes more familiar with these words. In this story, each page shows a different animal at bedtime.
The first few pages repeat “It’s time for bed” and it soon changes to “It’s time for sleep.” These words repeat on every page, so the repetition will help your baby to recognize the signs more quickly. The illustrations on each page are an added visual element. You can begin to add animal signs and the other bedtime words in the book later on as well.
For more ideas on signing with your baby, visit www.babysignlanguageonline.com/blog