For example, a child may make the sign for a bird. Then the parent can jump in with comments about the bird’s color, shape, even the name. But until the child indicated interest in the bird in the first place, the parent may not even have noticed it to discuss it.

I thought that was an interesting concept, really.

We haven’t had any complaints with Garcia’s book, but I will check out the one you suggested, too.

Misty, now you know a weak point for when I get back onto town on the 6th…

I get this question a lot about foreign languages–won’t it confuse them so they don’t learn English properly? And the answer, again, is no. The evidence seems to indicate that ANY language exposure at all is good for babies, who simply need to pick up the concept of language.

There are a few different outcomes that have been discovered: 1) the kid mixes foreign words into English for a bit, until they get the paradigm straightened out–but they do, and there’s so much English exposure outside the home that it doesn’t matter; 2) the kid speaks one language to one parent and English to the other; 3) the kid is slightly speech delayed, but then suddenly starts speaking in complete sentences–they seem to skip over the in between stage, indicating that the silence wasn’t a handicap, it was simply the kid thinking it over until they knew what they wanted to say. Nerve-wracking, I bet, but not detrimental to development.

The question I’ve gotten asked a lot is does it make them not talk and instead rely on the signs to make their point? And the answer seems to be: No, No and No. It actually makes them talk sooner and they use the sign to emphasize their point. Just like an adult who talks with their hands, who would have thought?

Joyous, Yes, Joy teaches Kindermusik. I would highly recommend it. There are classes starting from birth and even a sign and sing class. The link above on Joy’s name is her Kindermusik blog and she talks there about the benefits of Kindermusik. It pretty much does everything but cure cancer, and they’re working on solving that one too. I know you know about the benefits of music on kids and/or playing an instrument, cause you are a singer and a linguist. Kindermusik is a great environment to foster that.

Thanks for the book recommendation, I will definitely check it out. I might be able to dig up some research for you on baby sign and early language acquisition. (The other half the fun is having my own little research subject!)

Is Joy the one that teaches Kindermusik? What’s your thought on that?

Yaaaay baby sign. I can’t wait to try it with my kid (whenever that happens).