Sign Language

make a popping sound when you blow a kiss, touch only your chin and hand turn straight up & down to say thank you
hope this helps
R.

We had our daughter blow a kiss for Thank you. It was extremely cute, everyone loved it. We are planning on doing the same thing for our son. But also remember you can change any sign to whatever works for you so if you want something that looks different, go for it and have fun with it!

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much at her age. As she gets older, then the difference will be more evident to her than it is at this stage. Signs work similar to speech, they start out simple and not exactly how it would be for an adult (ie. saying dada for daddy). For speech in young children, parents are told not to correct the errors but to model the correct way to say it, and I think the same is true of signing. Your daughter will be more confident signing if you let her develop it as you go along than to try to correct her version of the sign. Just take the kisses as a thank you, what better thank you is there than that?!

don't make the kissing motion with thank you but with blowing kisses you do just be patient she get it it get you do it siging so pretty it the pretty language in the world

Hahaha. My daughter JUST learned to blow a kiss (using her hand--she used to just make kissy sounds)this week, and I've been working on thank you with her, as well. To confuse matters more, the sign for blanket is very similar, too (and sounds similar when you say it!). So we're going through the same thing. My daughter has a substantial speech delay, so we've been working on the signs. She now has quite a few signs, and I've found that persistence and consistency is the key. Just keep on doing it, and make sure you're saying the word carefully every time you show her the sign. I'll say, "thank you" and do the sign, and if she signs "blanket", I say, "no, no, not blanket,thank you" and re-emphasize the sign. She'll get it eventually! Good luck!

Hey! The best way to teach what a sign means to a child is to just model it yourself as often as possible. Whenever it fits sneak it in, even if you are talking to your hubby. The other key is repetition, repetition, repetition.
There is a group of signing videos called Signing Time! and they are the best that I have seen, and I have been working in Deaf Ed for almost 10 years! There is a song on them about please, and thank-you that can help as well.
Good luck!

Hi,
that is a great idea. I would tell her that when she is blowing kisses she is sending them to that person. When she is saying thank you her hand goes down to low five her other hand. Maybe that will work. Good Luck.
T.,
The MOM Team, Helping Moms Work From Home
www.cheerforyourfuture.com

Yes, look it up!
http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi

I just want to say that I am impressed. It takes work to teach your child sign language. I went the easy route, I got the Baby Einstein DVD called Baby's First Signs. I didn't have much time to research this on my own. It is presented better than I could present it on my own.
J.

Hi A.,

It's not necessary to differentiate between the two. They are inherently similar and your daughter is going to have her own interpretation anyway.

I taught my son to sign, too, and EVERYtime we were in a situation where I'd encourage him to "say" thank you to someone, they were certain he was too cute blowing them a kiss! Since both actions are kind, don't worry about it.

D.

I am the mother of a hard of hearing (HOH) son. He is profoundly deaf in his right ear, but has enough hearing in his left so that he can benefit from hearing aids. He also has a full-time interpreter at school. We use sign language at home. More and more people are seeing the advantages of teaching their young, hearing children sign language (which will ultimately help my son, too! More people to communicate with.) You're right, "thank you" and blowing a kiss are similar. "Thank you" involves touching the chin first. Blowing a kiss involves the lips. Subtle but noticable. Your child could also use the "mwa!" sound when she blows a kiss. Just a thought. Are you familiar with the ASLPro.com web site? Games, dictionaries, resources. Good stuff! Enjoy!

Janet

A.- Look up signing time online or go to your local library. It's a series designed by a mom (with a hearing impared child) and her sister. It is very effective and they have over 25 movies in their collection. My 2 and 3 year old have learned lots of signs from it. My 2 year old daughters favorite is the sign for grumpy when she's tired or crabby!! (My 8 year old even likes the series:)

A.,

I am currently a SAHM, but in my professional life I taught children who were deaf and hard of hearing for several years. As a sign language user and teacher trust me when I say relax! A one year old can only be expected to sign approximations. Continue to show her the difference of "thank you" and blowing a kiss, but accept the approximated sign when used in appropriate context. Sign language is a wonderful communication system for young children and has greatly impacted both of my children's language abilities for the good. Keep in mind though, as your daughter learns to speak the signs will diminish. It is physically easier to speak then sign and it is natural to lose one in favor of the other. That being said, my children still use signs when they are tired or too shy to speak in public and its a great way for me to tell them when they are misbehaving in public without making a verbal scene! I wish you and your family all the best!

Just as lots of verbal words sound similar, many signs are very similar. I would not worry about it. Do the same as you would if she is speaking verbally. When she signs if it is not correct, say something like "That's very good, thank you." and do the sign correctly. As she gets older the signs will become more clear.
My son started signing around 8 months. He is 3.5 now. When he first started to sign the word "finish", he would slap the table or his legs. (We used the sign a lot at the dinner table). Now he signs "finish" correctly.
As your daughter gets more verbal, she will probably use less sign. I don't want my son to lose his sign language skills (he's quite good :-)), so I still sign a little when I speak verbally to him. Consistently, he will use words and signs at the same time when he talks.
Enjoy that your daughter is attempting the signs and continue to teach her!

Babies are so cute and funny. Get what you can and take almost every sign you can. It will be less frustating to you and her. I sign with my son and the little girl I work with and she blows kisses for thank you I think it's cute!

Hi A.,

Contact the local school in your area and find out who does the sign language for children.

Contact the local military support information.

www.ffscnorva.navy.mil

Good luck. D.

Hi A.,

Pick up the DVD's Signing Time. They are wonderful and will teach your child alot. My daughter starting signing wonderfully before she turned 1. I am sure you will enjoy. Here is the link www.signingtime.com. Let me know how that works out for your daughter.

Kind regards,

Dee

when you blow a kiss you make a loud smooch sound. makesure todo that very loudly every time so she knows the difference. also one comes from the chin the other over the mouth. make sure you make that clear in your signing to her so that she may learn to mirror you the same way. 'm sure you will know which sign she is doing sense they dont mean the same or opposite things id take a kiss for thank you anyday from my girls anyways. good luck.