Really Fun Toddler Activities & Signs to Kick Off The Fall Season

Fall is a lovely season. It is a time of change and discovery lending all of us opportunities for learning and engaging with our little ones outdoors and indoors. If you are fortunate enough to have a toddler who is transitioning from non-verbal to verbal communication join us as we explore a few games, activities and signs that capture the very heart of the season.

Dressing Up For Fall

 

Fall Dress

Say goodbye to swimming trunks, sunglasses & shorts and get ready to teach your baby new and wonderful signs that will empower her to seek comfort and warmth as needed. When you are ready to show your toddler new clothing suitable for the season make sure you prioritize comfort and fit. I remember our little one using the sign for hurt the first time she tried on a pair of hand-me-down boots.

Activity

If your toddler is ready this is a great time to work on motor skills teaching him tasks such as zipper up and zipper down, button up and button down as well as put on and take off with clothing items such as jackets, scarfs and hats. This is also the perfect season to learn to wipe our boots or shoes before going inside. Learning this skill early will set the stage for a neat and successful winter.

Signs

Among others, here are a few signs we can learn as we explore warmer clothing for the season.

Sweater

To sign sweater hands move down from chest to waist at the same time as if in putting on a sweater.

Coat

To make the baby sign for coat take both hands and make them into fists with thumbs up. Move the two fists up and down in front of the chest.

Scarf

To sign scarf  your hands will make the motion that mimics tying a scarf around your neck with a single knot.

Gloves

To sign gloves brush your fingers on your dominant hand, over your non-dominant hand. Then do the reverse, running the fingers of your non-dominant hand over the fingers of your dominant hand. The sign resembles someone putting on a pair of gloves.

Boots

To sign boots you start by doing the sign for shoes, taking two closed fists and bumping them together. Then you open your strong hand and touch it on the inside of your weak arm’s elbow – as if to show that the boots come up high on your arm.

Discovering the Great Outdoors

Fall Dress

This is perhaps the most beautiful part of the season. Observing change, learning about nature and discovering celebrations that will be the foundation of cherished memories.

Activity

Our favorite toddler-friendly activity is also the simplest and most accessible to all of us. Walk outdoors and collect the gifts of nature. You can use leaves and seeds to create simple crafts and take the opportunity to teach your baby how to sign and say words relevant to the season. We love to make little collages using glue, paper and bits of nature.

Signs

Leaf

The leaf sign looks a lot like a leaf hanging from a branch, waving in a gentle breeze. Your weak hand acts like the branch. You point the index finger on your weak hand and make your other fingers into a fist.

Seed

To sign seed use your dominant hand with all fingers pointed downward. Grab an imaginary seed and open and close your hand as in dropping seeds.

Rain

To sign rain, open up both hands, and starting with your hands above your head and bring them down. Your fingers are like the raindrops drifting down.

Stick

To sign stick both hands meet together at the center making two circles with thumb and index as if in holding a stick. Pull your hands out and away from your body.

Park

The sign for park is achieved by combining the sign for grass with the sign for area or space.

Celebrating The Holidays

Fall Dress

This season lends us two magical opportunities for family and fun. Thanksgiving and Halloween are among the most memorable childhood holidays. Embrace the season and get busy teaching your little one family traditions and games that will stay in their hearts forever.

Activity

There are so many seasonal activities related to the holidays we would not know where to start. We love making homemade candy and cookies and allowing our toddlers to do simple sprinkle-based decorations. We also set time aside to make turkey or pilgrim and native hats.

Signs

Turkey

The sign for Turkey looks like outlining the wattles on a turkey. Taking the index finger and thumb pointing down, move your hand from your chin down to your chest.

Pumpkin

To sign pumpkin  your non-dominant hand goes  into a fist and flicking it with your forefinger on your dominant hand. The sign is like you are testing the surface of pumpkin to make sure it is good.

Candy

To sign candy take your index finger and touching it to the back of your jaw. Twist the finger back-and-forth.

Halloween

To sign halloween cover your face with both hands palms slightly curved and uncover your face right away as in playing peek-a-boo.

Ghost

To sign ghost have both hands meet with index and thumb, move the upper or dominant hand upwards while waving slightly as if a genie was coming out of a bottle. Your non-dominant hand remains still.

 

If you are new to signing we encourage you to explore all the wonderful products we have compiled aimed at helping your baby communicate from birth to his preschool years. Our favorite is the Ultra Baby Sign Language Kit. This awesome kit contains twelve resources aimed at engaging in learning using all your senses. The kit contains Baby Signing Time DVDs, audio recordings with popular songs, flash cards, chart and teaching guides. An absolute value for less than $120

Our Favorite Baby Board Books for Halloween & Some Baby Signs

We can’t wait for Halloween. For many many friends this will be the first Halloween their baby or toddler will have the opportunity to dress up and participate in Trick-0-treating and many other fun family activities. If you are going to stop by the bookstore or library consider these fun baby books. We have many baby sign language flashcards you can combine as you read-along together. Before we get started let’s print a few Halloween-themed baby signs you might want to start learning:

Halloween

Candy

Bat

Pumpkin

Costume

Ghost

Monster

Chocolate

Afraid

Biscuit Visits The Pumpkin Patch

Halloween Books for Babies

 

Favorite Baby Signs

Dog

Cat

Where is Baby’s Pumpkin

Where Is Baby's Pumpkin

 

Favorite signs:

Leaf

Pumpkin

Baby

Apple

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin

Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin

Favorite signs

Duck

Tree

Water

 

We hope you enjoy these books as much as we have enjoyed them with our little ones. If you are interested in signing as you read consider getting the Ultra Baby Sign Language Kit. This fantastic signing kit includes 4 Signing Time DVDs as well as four beautiful signing board books. Time to Eat, Good Night Alex and Leah, What Do You See Outside & Will You Be My Friend.

Have a happy & safe Halloween!

 

Beyond Communication – How Teaching Your Baby How To Sign Sets The Stage For Learning

Is it a gimmick? Are you wasting your time? We would not be surprised if you are asking yourself these questions as it relates to teaching your little how to sign or any other pre-verbal life skill. When it comes to the first 12 months of their lives there is plenty to do in terms of care-giving exposure and learning and trying to parse what needs to be prioritized can be tricky.

What Your Baby Will Learn From Signing 

  • Your baby will learn that communication, verbal or gestural equips us to have our needs met.

  • Your baby will learn to engage in visual focus.

  • Your baby will learn to engage with others.

  • Your baby will improve his motor skills.

  • Your baby will learn to better express needs and emotions

  • Your baby will learn paths of engagement

All of the skills learned through the process of learning how to use baby sign language will transfer to every aspect of learning. As your toddler enters daycare he will be equipped to convey immediate needs without frustration and will seek out engagement with ease.

 

 

Which Baby Sign Language Kit is Right For You?

Purchasing educational materials for your baby is definitively an investment. Investing in education and knowledge will yield durable fruit by establishing the foundation needed for a well-rounded life. The books and educational toys you purchase for your little one should come from a separate budget. A blanket or teddy that provides comfort is not at all comparable to the resources that will help your little one communicate their needs and wants. With this in mind I wanted to take a moment to guide you through deciding which Baby Sign Language Kit is best for your little one.

I Am a Busy Parent & Work Outside The Home

If you have limited time to sit with your baby and practice signs contextually or through play you may want to consider our Ultra Baby Sign Language Kit. The Ultra is the largest kit we offer and includes DVDs as well as CDs, Board Books, Chart, Baby Sign Language Dictionary as Well as Wall Chart. The wall chart is particularly useful to provide an easy access guide to caregivers that might not be familiar with baby sign language. The multimedia which contains age-appropriate narratives and songs will be perfect for those moments that you are trying to multitask.

I Want a Set That Allows Me To Play With My Little One

If you are looking for an interactive resource to teach your little one baby sign language while introducing them to basic phonetics you might want to take a look at the Babblarna Baby Sign Language Kit. This limited edition kit contains beautiful story books written by a Swedish author whose area of expertise is early childhood communication. In addition to beautiful books you will get a set of finger puppets to help you interact with your babies plus all the basic products available with every one of our kits.

I Want The Bang for My Buck

The most popular kit is The Premium Baby Sign Language Kit. This kit contains all the core elements of our signing kits plus all 4 DVDs and 4 CDs so you and your child can sing along at home or on the road. Many parents tell us this is the kit they have used from birth until their little one is about to enter kindergarten

 

Our shop is curated to offer you the best baby sign language teaching and learning materials you can find. Go take a look and find the kit that best works for you. If you are looking to make a bulk purchase for your daycare, give us a call; we will help you out.

 

The Pick-Three Method – This is The Best Way to Simplify Learning & Play During The Formative Years

I am easily overwhelmed by clutter. Unfortunately I am also very easily  tempted by the idea of having new things. When I became a mom my life was turned upside down and things were often chaotic. To alleviate

some of my stress I reached out to a friend whose area of expertise is learning through play. Her words of wisdom have made a big difference in the way I engage with my little one and the progress we have made as

it relates to learning.

Her words were simple: “At any given time only make three toys or interactive learning tools to your baby” She calls this the Pick Three Method. Her method is not simply about selecting three toys. The idea behind her method

is intentionality in what we select.

Pick a Toy For Outdoors

Your baby needs outdoor time. This is important in more ways than one. Outdoor time will improve their biome activate their vitamin D and expose them to environmental concepts not available inside the house. Early one the

outdoor choices can be as simple as a splash pool. As your toddler develops you can add an element of learning by using kits that expose them to the basics of science such as planting seeds, looking for bugs or spotting birds. Consider

also toys that help improve motor skills such as a bike, trike or scooter.

Pick a Toy For Autonomous Play & Comfort

The reality of parenting is that you are not always available. Pick a toy that will keep your little one busy while you are trying to tackle other matters such as potty breaks for yourself or cooking a simple meal. When selecting toys for autonomous interaction take into account safety as well as the level of soothing comfort it delivers to your little one. This is the right place for a lovey or even media via a phone or tablet.

Pick a Toy For Learning

All play is about learning and development in one way or another; with that in mind we also need to acknowledge that some toys are far more useful for the task. For learning we love books, flash cards, interactive objects that facilitate groupings such as farm animals or blocks. We use our baby sign language flash cards to learn songs to introduce our babies to color and shapes and to facilitate learning of concepts such as up, down more, less, big and small.

Having reduced our toy availability to three at the time has given us a great deal of joy while helping remove some of the burden caused by clutter. Give it a try. Perhaps today is the day to Mary Kondo your child’s life.