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| Sirena, 15 months, signs SQUIRREL |
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| Back in 2000, when my husband and I had our first child, my mother attended a baby sign language class in another city. Signing with babies was virtually unheard of at the time, but my husband and I were intrigued by the idea and decided to give it a try.
Soon our daughter began signing back to us, which really did seem like a miracle! I couldn't imagine that any parent wouldn't want to do this if they only knew it was possible. I found myself giving mini-lessons everywhere I went-- the playground, supermarket checkout line, anyplace I found myself next to another person with a baby. Most parents seemed interested and eager to learn, so in early 2001 I began to offer classes for new and expectant parents at local hospitals. As interest (and my children) grew, I designed a curriculum for parent-child "Sign, Sing, and Play" classes as well, and those have since become the core class offering at Baby Sign Language Basics.
In 2004, I was approached by Hay House Publishing about writing a book on baby sign language. The resulting original addition of Baby Sign Language Basics became the best-selling baby sign language book of all time, has since sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has been translated into 6 foreign languages. Since then, we have published an entire line of very high quality learning materials, including a parent DVD, flash cards, and a music CD, which are available in bookstores and websites around the world.
Teaching my parent-child classes is still my favorite part of the job. Now that my children are "big kids", I get my baby-fix with my little students. The "miracle" of seeing that light of understanding switch on in a baby's eyes, and their little hands come together to form a deliberate sign, never ceases to amaze me!
Monta Briant
Owner/ Author Baby Sign Language Basics
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