Itching to get going? If so, then you’re finally in the right place. By now you understand the backbone to signing with your baby, but what you lack is the method to teaching sign, and that is what we will cover in the pages to follow.
In this chapter we cover how many signs parents should start with and provide hints on selecting them. For those who just want to sign the basics, we provide the lazy person’s shortlist. We then define “motivating signs” and discuss why including this category of sign is so important. Next we discuss signs that are particularly bad to start with followed by an examination of sign approximations and the rules that govern them. We conclude the chapter by discussing the “signing explosion” and why this stage makes it difficult to keep up with your baby.