Reading books is one of the most important things you can teach your child. I was one of the moms who started it really early, YES, while I was pregnant, with my both kids.
Reading with my children Zoë and Dylan is always the highlight of our evening routine. They pick up books to read, they wait for their turn, they ask questions and more. We make it FUN and EDUCATIONAL. Well, I make the educational part of it… FUN!
Reading books is not only about the story, about the sentences or the words. It is way more than that. I am sure you all watched a child reading a book—their facial expression, their curiosity, their attention. All that has created in more meaning while children also sign.
How does signing with books start? Every time your child sees an image that she can sign, for example, the image of A CAT, or A COW, she will recognize it. How do you know?
She will give a hearty smile, letting you know she recognized it. Some children will produce voice ‘MEAOW” to CAT and “MOO” to “COW”. Children who can sign, will sign the animal (or the object) they see. This is the SAME skill as reading: recognizing one symbol: the written word/ the image and expressing it verbally/ in sign.
That’s how signing makes it so easy to teach the children to read books and understand. You wiIl find yourself amazed and proud when the baby recognizes the object or image in the book and start to interact with you showing signs the baby knows.
Let the sign shine to every parent around the globe!