Written by Shlomit Ovadia of JCC Denver
Imagine you’re a new parent. Your baby is crying, and you don’t know why, but you ask them, and they actually respond with a hand gesture that means “tired.” You put them to bed even though it’s 30 minutes before their usual down time and voila— problem solved!
That’s the magic of Signing Smart—a set of nonverbal communication signals that help your baby communicate with you long before their language centers develop. Proudly offered at JCC Denver as an 8–10-week, twice-thrice weekly progressive class series, Signing Smart empowers babies to develop gesticulatory communication that not only accelerates language learning, but brings parents into their children’s worlds.
“I knew that I wanted to sign with my babies well before I had my first child. I’m not sure why that was,” reflects JCC Denver Signing Smart instructor Rina Coury, who when pregnant with her firstborn child, began learning Signing Smart, later attending workshops and play classes with her newborn.
“It was just amazing and magical,” she says. “I’d be out and about with my daughter and other moms would ask what I was doing,” and if she could teach them how to Sign Smart. “I didn’t have a full-time job at the time, so I took them up on it.”
Still a Signing Smart teacher, Rina has now been instructing parents for nearly two decades, and nearly 3,000 babies have gone through her programming.
“Hearing infants and toddlers who sign will access language more quickly and easily and will be able to communicate in signs long before words, which relieves frustration and gives them a sense of empowerment to promote their own learning,” Rina explains of its benefit.
In one instance that Rina can recall, a mother who took her class was able to save her 18-month-old baby’s life, who, after eating cashews at a party, signed “hurt” to her mom, who then noticed her difficulty breathing and rushed her to the ER, where they discovered a severe cashew allergy.
Early communication about things that are of interest to the baby as well as important things like ‘pain’ and ‘sick’ can be used to truly transform the parent-child relationship.
“The number of times our kids misunderstand us and can ask questions with sign, or, when we misunderstand our babies and need to ask them for clarification, is astounding. With sign, they show us with their hands [what they mean],” adds Rina.
“When kids talk and say I want ‘ba’, does that mean ‘bottle’, ‘ball,’ or something else?”
Both of Rina’s 45-minute class series (Beginner Sign and Talking Toddler) are held thrice annually: beginning in September, January, and April.
Depending on the age of the baby, it may take anywhere from 2-12 weeks for parents to begin noticing their kids signing.
“What’s so rewarding is the amazing appreciation I get from parents in their ability to communicate with their kids, and the stories they tell me,” she says. “For families, it can simplify communication, reduce frustration, and explode language development. I think it’s an awesome thing that every parent can do.”
To register for Rina’s classes and check out our other baby enrichment opportunities, please visit our website here.