Tag Archives: baby

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow…

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My little girl left yesterday to go to outdoor education camp with her grade 6 class. Okay, she’s not actually that little, I know, and she’s more than ready for a week away with her friends and teachers from school. But I was a bit teary and feeling tender as we pulled up to the school and schlepped her gear to the waiting bus. She saw my moist eyes and shot me a wide-eyed look of despair: please, please don’t gush and embarrass me with a million kisses and hugs, Mom! But that’s all I wanted to do.

I wanted to squeeze her until the very last minute before she got on that school bus.

I held my enthusiasm in as much as I could. I know she needed me to send her off strong. I took a deep breath and gathered my reserves. Suddenly I had a vivid memory of the first day I took her to daycare at 2 1/2 years old. She was a very social kid and was interested in the new toys and teachers that greeted us. I was encouraged to stay and play for a little while but then wisely told to move on without a lot of goodbyes or delays (those teachers were so smart!). It was terribly difficult to leave her, but I knew I had to go. I looked her in the eye as I stood at the door and signed “I Love You” before heading outside. I did that each and every time I left her at daycare, and it very slowly got easier to turn away and head out the door. Some days she cried when I left -tears would literally pour out of her eyes as she signed “I love You” back to me. But some days she didn’t cry. Some days I would have to call her name to catch her eye as she ran in and began playing with another little friend. But either way, soon enough we created a routine that always included saying “I Love You” in sign language before separating, and it was all ours.

Back at the school bus yesterday, I gave her a long hug and told her I loved her, and to enjoy every minute of camp and to tell me all about it when she got back. Then, because it was time for her to go, she turned around and started walking away, but before she got too far, I called her name and signed, “I Love You”. She smiled and signed it back to me, and I felt so much better.

LeeAnn&Kids

Ella signing “I Love You” with me & her brother, 2010

Signs of Halloween

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HALLOWEEN is almost here! Much more than just candy and trick-or-treating, I’ve always emphasized the fun and playfulness of Halloween with my kids. Halloween is a very visual event, so take the opportunity to identify and talk about the things you see out in the world with your babies and kids. Putting ASL signs within your conversations will help your babies and kids learn new vocabulary, and it’s easy!

Here are some Halloween signs to keep you signing with your littles this week:

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Here’s a song you can use some signs in:

IF YOU’RE A GHOST (If You’re Happy & You Know It)
If you’re a ghost and you know it,
You say BOO,
If you’re a ghost and you know it,
You say BOO,
If you’re a ghost and you know it,
And you really want to show it,
If you’re a ghost and you know it ,
You say BOO!

Come inside for a little Halloween fun at my house!

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Yes, Halloween is one of my favourite family “holidays”. There’s lots of kid-friendly fun stuff to do outside at the farms, veggie stands, parks, and neighbourhoods. Inside the house, we decorate with crafts my kids have made in the past and present, and add some little scary touches. Little by little, we’ve found some traditions that have become our own which our kids look forward to every fall.

Around the second weekend of October, the Halloween bin comes out of the basement! We love to decorate the house a little, inside and out, to encourage trick-or-treaters. Decorating also allows our family to enjoy anticipating the big night. Outside, Christmas lights with ghosts on top light up our dark-at-night walkway:

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I’ve found that gel gems and wall stickers are one of the best bangs for my decorating buck because I’ve learned to be very careful in applying and removing them. And I always save the packaging and so I can re-use them yearly. These bat wall stickers were the perfect thing for our shoe bin in the front hall:

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Because my kids are old enough, I can let them help out (and go nuts) with decorating the bathroom mirrors and inside windows with gel gems (this guy greets us as we brush our teeth and also glows in the dark):

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Instead of emphasizing the candy, we always make lots of treats to eat at home and at parties. One of my favourite treats to make with the kids is creamy jello jigglers. I have a post with the full recipe for these, but here’s a look at the Halloween-themed jello we made this year:

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What kind of Halloween fun is your family up to?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Lee Ann

One Fun Thing

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One of our bucket list items this summer was to visit local tourist attractions that we normally don’t have time for during the school year. Have you been a tourist in your own town?

We had started the tradition a few years back to choose one fun thing to do as a family before the summer ended. Over the years we had done bike rides, pool visits to soak up the last of the sun, evening ice cream shop visits, little stuff like that. Several years ago, our daughter started begging us to go on one of those red trolley tour buses… oh, brother. My husband and I are not keen on tour buses and we found ourselves saying, “Oh, yes, sure, one day we’ll do that!”. And yes, we managed to distract her and not do that for quite a while, but finally the jig was up, and it was her “one fun thing” end of summer wish.
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So off we went, and we had a blast! We learned tons about our city, so many exciting things we had no idea about at all, and we caught the bug for being a tourist in our own town.

Flash forward to this year, and we decided to embrace the not-so-sunny weather this week for our “one fun thing” before summer ends. We hit the UBC Botanical Garden and Greenheart Canopy Trail, a new local destination for our family.
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It was a great place to go to on a cloudy day because the trees protected us from moisture (okay, yes, I mean rain!) and the cultured trails took us through all sorts of wild forest growth. We could let the kids run and play without getting lost easily. There is a paved path suitable for strollers:
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This path leads to the more formal cultivated gardens -an Alpine, Carolinian, Food, B.C Native Garden, and a very cool labrynth -that you access through this cool tunnel:
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We didn’t spend much time in the formal gardens, but my kids ran back and forth through this tunnel a few times listening to the echo as they ran yelling at the top of their lungs,
“ECHO! ECHO!.. Echo!… echo!… echo…”

There’s also a woodchip path which leads you through all sorts of glades and more wild forest areas.
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Following the woodchip path leads you to the Greenhart Canopy Walkway which is a suspended trail system which allows you to literally go up into the trees and walk 75 feet above the forest floor.
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So, because we were now those people who liked guided tours, we waited at the trail entrance to meet the free forest guide:
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(It’s entirely possible we might have played leap-frog here).

The guided tour was fantastic! We got to listen to an enthusiastic university grad student who also had helped build the walkway tell us about the treetop trailway, forest history, the first nations’ uses of local forest materials, and lots of cool facts about the trees of this coastal temperate rainforest including western red cedar, western hemlock, Douglas fir, grand fir, and red alder. We learned that some of the trees we saw were over 400 years old, and some were thought to be close to 1000 years old at least!

I was fascinated hearing about the Taiwanese “Coffin” tree (a relative of the redwood tree which also grows in BC) whose wood is so hardy and resistant to rot, it was used for making coffins. It also has remarkable needles whose extra-thick coating of protective sap allows the massive trees to withstand the hot & sunny climate of Taiwan -the needles look green on sunny days but show blue on cloudy days due to its protective sap. We got extremely close to these enormous trees in the first part of the walkway, and because it was a dull day, we could touch and feel the sticky, visibly blue needles.
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You can see the Taiwanese coffin trees’ needles close up in the top photo above, and then how the trees look blue-er than the surrounding greenery shown in the bottom pic.

My kids were thrilled to traverse the swingy walkways (slightly more than my husband and I were, mind you) and we all loved the incredible balance of adventure and learning. We didn’t make it through all of the gardens, but we plan to return soon. The forest is an incredible place to visit all year around. (Please note: the canopy trailway is best suited for bigger kids aged 5 and up, in my opinion. It is quite swingy and a wee bit tippy.)

So there’s this year’s “one fun thing” before school starts and we ticked off visiting a local tourist attraction (without getting too touristy) from my family’s summer bucket list, too! It was very fun and a great way to tackle a less-than-stunning summer day. I was proud to learn that the Greenheart Conservation Company which built the walkway is a local Vancouver company. They design, build and operate conservation-based canopy walkways and other nature-based attractions around the world. Canopy Walkways are the among the finest examples of the global trend in sustainable and responsible tourism:

“Construction is as non-invasive as possible using the patent pending ‘tree hugger’ suspension system. The tree hugger uses no nails or bolts or intrusive fasteners of any kind, using instead, a variable tension system to provide the least amount of infringement or impact on the trees.”

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What one fun thing are you planning this weekend?

Click here to see the ASL sign for TREE

Pick a Sign (but not just any sign)

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I often get asked, “What signs should I teach my baby?”

Easy beginner words like MILK, MORE, ALL DONE, MOMMY, and DADDY are an easy start, but some parents aren’t sure what signs to pick next. Don’t worry, there are endless ways to incorporate American Sign Language into your daily lives, and choosing your first round of signs is easy!

I find a two-fold approach in choosing signs is always successful: some for you and some for baby. In other words, pick some signs that are routine-based, and also pick some signs that reflect what your baby is interested in. Remember, sign language is the bridge between communicating with your pre-verbal baby until they can speak, so pick signs that help name what’s happening in your day (routines) as well as what your baby wants to talk about (the fun stuff).

So signs like DIAPER, EAT, BATH, BED, UP, etc, are great choices for describing what’s happening or about to happen –everyone loves to know what’s happening next, even babies. Spend time talking about and naming what you’re doing, and your babies will soon learn your natural routines and feel calmer and more included in the daily schedule. I’ve always said, “Happy baby, happy family” (sigh), and I still believe that’s true.

And also pay attention to what your baby is telling you! Do they love a particular TOY or object in a BOOK you always have around? Do they giggle when they see DOGS outside on your strolls? Do they tap at the FISH tank in your house? Do they stare at certain colours, toys, anything? Then name it! Sign it! Discuss it! This is your chance to connect deeply with your babies because they will know you are noticing something they want to tell you, and you are responding. Bam! That’s communicating! You are an awesome parent and an outstanding communicator.

My daughter, Ella, noticed BIRDS while we were on neighbourhood strolls. I, of course, did not notice BIRDS; I was staring straight ahead, viciously sleep-deprived most days and barely picking up my own feet, but my baby was mesmerized by birds in the trees. She was always watching them flit around above us and listening to them chirp away. I hadn’t really noticed how much Ella loved watching birds until I saw her craning her neck to still face the trees after I had turned the stroller around to head home from the park.

I finally realized she was pointing at the birds and I had a mini-AHA! moment. I promptly taught her the sign for BIRD and started talking about those birds: “Hey, I see all the BIRDS! Look at the BIRDS! How many BIRDS do you see?” Her response was almost feverish, and a truly triumphant look came upon her face. She knew I knew what she wanted to talk about! And so began a massive daily dialogue about birds: birds in the trees, birds up high, birds down low, birds by the pond, birds in books, birds chirping outside every morning. I could visibly see how much she wanted to tell me about the birds, and it was fantastic. I’m guessing your baby will be feverish about something around you, too. Keep an eye out, and you’ll find your next sign.

Successful early communication with babies involves some mindful decisions about what to say, but it’s not tricky. Think about the words that will help you name your daily routines, and also be very aware of what your baby is interested in. These words will quickly become your arsenal of vocabulary to work on. It will build naturally as your baby grows, and as you make more routines and do more activities together. Always say the words aloud to your baby as you sign them, and repeat often to maintain context.

Oh, and please allow me to introduce you to our family’s new pet bird, Lucky!
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Lucky was rescued from a nearby alleyway by friends who couldn’t keep her. Both my kids are thrilled that we adopted a bird, but it’s especially cool to pull a favourite word from my daughter’s first roster of signs into her life as a big kid.

What does your baby want to talk to you about?

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To sign BIRD in American Sign Language, tap your index finger to your thumb a few times, like the beak of a bird.

Why I Do What I Do

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To me, so much of the beauty of early communication with your baby is about ending the constant guessing games and being able to act on what you know -because they can tell you! As humans we all just want to be understood. And how beautiful is an exchange between you and your (non-verbal) baby where you know exactly what they want and can act on that expressed need? That’s what made me passionate about sign language. That’s why I started teaching classes to new families.

Many people ask me why I started teaching baby sign language. I always answer that it came from a personal passion for sign language, which is absolutely true. But, honestly? It was also kind of a fluke. I had worked with kids of all abilities when I taught preschool before having my own kids, but I’d never heard of sign language for babies until I became a parent myself. One of my best friends who was bravely blazing the trail of parenthood a few years ahead of me suggested looking into baby sign language as a fun activity to do while on maternity leave. So I looked it up and found a class and I tried it. The class got me out of the house, I met some other new parents, and it was fun. I learned quite a few signs, and for many months it remained a fun, light-hearted activity within my long days and nights as a new parent. Until the morning my daughter signed EAT.

At the age of 10 months, my daughter noticed a piece of pasta underneath our kitchen table. She pointed at the pasta, looked at me and signed EAT, and then dove under the table to go eat it! I was ecstatic to see her very first sign, clear as day. We celebrated and I started clapping and cheering, “Yes, EAT! EAT!”, even though I was a teensy bit appalled because I realized that noodle was from last night’s dinner. Oh well. I still considered it an outstanding victory in parenthood after months of not really knowing what the heck I was doing most of the time.

Her first sign was a day I’ll never, ever forget.

We signed and said EAT at every meal– “Okay, let’s go in the kitchen and get your breakfast, time to EAT!” or “Mmm, mommy has some apples, let’s EAT!”. Mealtime happened many times a day, every day, so there was lots of repetition, and I would also sign it when I was eating, even if she wasn’t joining me.  EAT was a natural first sign because I had practiced it with her a lot, and boy, was it nice to know what she wanted! Once she was able to sign EAT, it meant she could tell me when she was hungry or just wanted to talk about food. Prior to that, she and I could only play guessing games, which often ended in tears for one of us (and sometimes both of us). But all of a sudden, well before she could say the words for EAT, or MILK, or HUNGRY, she could sign them. WOW.

Sign language is the bridge between what our babies can tell us with their bodies before what they can tell us with their mouths.

I started teaching sign language classes because I became so passionate about what sign language can do for both babies and parents –the possibilities are endless. I still use sign language with my big kids everyday. My background in creating and teaching preschool programs allowed me to build a curriculum based on what I had learned in my first sign language class and also incorporate my own personal experience as a parent forging a path of greater communication with my family.

And so, my love for sign language really started as a very personal story of the pull I felt as a new mom who couldn’t stand not knowing what my baby wanted and why she cried. And my classes became what they are today –my passion. I’m so thankful I get to share this passion with you.

HATS (not) Optional

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HAT in ASL www.growingsigns.com

I love hats!

In summer, I know wearing a hat is the best way to protect myself from overheating, sun exposure, and glare. Same goes for winter, but for warmth and keeping dry (hats also really help on days when my hair could use some extra TLC but there’s no time to give it any).  But my family hasn’t always shared my same enthusiasm for wearing hats.

My first baby was born in early springtime, and by June, the rays of summer came hot & heavy upon us as we strolled and took in summer fun around town. Besides always using the stroller’s built-in sun shade, I remember popping lots of cute bonnets and brimmed hats into my diaper bag for her. By August, as she got older & more dextrous, I remember lots of cute bonnets and brimmed hats being tossed out of the stroller -she did NOT like wearing a hat.

Every time she’d pop her hat off, I’d pop it back on and sign HAT. Every day, over and over. Sometimes I’d try really roomy hats that I’d hope she wouldn’t feel being stealthily put on her from behind…no good. But I kept trying. HAT. We wear our HAT. Mommy’s putting on her HAT. Here’s your HAT.

The following summer when she was one, I found myself repeating HAT a lot: Let’s put on our HAT! Even though she was talking, I’d realized that it really helped to use signs along with my verbal words for commands or, shall we say, emphatic statements. One day, after weeks and weeks of relentless hat tossing (why do babies never tire of some things?) and HAT signing (well, I’m pretty stubborn too), I was almost blown off my own feet. As we were leaving the house for our daily jaunt, the sunlight almost blinded us through the open door: “Mommy, I need HAT!” Wait, what? She was reminding me!

Now, I keep hats for all of us by the front door and back-ups in the car. My kids know wearing their hat is part of being outside, and thankfully, you can find cool-looking kids’ hats everywhere now. Luckily my son has been more amenable from a young age to wearing a hat and doesn’t fight me on it (there’s other battles, don’t worry).

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Yesterday, our family strolled down Fourth Avenue in the blazing sun and took in the annual Khatsahlano Street Party music festival, all in our straw hats.

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Don’t give up if your baby resists your efforts to wear a HAT. Try signing HAT every time you see hats, wear hats, pick up hats, put on hats. As I’ve realized is true with all parenting efforts, including teaching signs: consistency and repetition are key. And it helps if you wear a hat, too!

How to Sign HAT in American Sign Language

The American Sign Language sign for HAT is tapping at the top of your head with a flat hand to indicate where a hat is worn.