Let¡¦s start with signs for family members. We¡¦ll begin with ¡§Mother.¡¨ My thumb is hitting my chin. The next word is, ¡§Father,¡¨ up on the forehead. You hand is extended open so this is ¡§mother¡¨ and ¡§father.¡¨ To sign ¡§girl,¡¨ my thumb is going down the side of my face. A good way to remember this is, a long time ago when women wore the bonnets that tied and the ribbons went down like that. The sign for ¡§boy.¡¨ This goes back to when they wore caps and they would tip them. Instead of tipping it forward, it¡¦s like grabbing the bill of the cap. ¡§Son.¡¨ Take it down into a baby. What¡¦s you¡¦re really saying is ¡§boy baby.¡¨ ¡§Daughter¡¨ is done the same way. ¡§Girl baby.¡¨ Next is ¡§sister.¡¨ Do the ¡§girl¡¨ sign then put your index fingers together, touching and sign, ¡§girl touch.¡¨ This sign means ¡§same¡¨ if you hit it two times. You don¡¦t have to say ¡§same,¡¨ instead, it¡¦s ¡§girl¡¨ and then touch together. ¡§Sister.¡¨ For ¡§brother,¡¨ it¡¦s the exact same sign with ¡§boy¡¨ and then the index fingers touching. The next word is ¡§husband.¡¨ You can make a ¡§C¡¨ hand shape and then turn it. Take it down to your other hand that also has a ¡§C¡¨ hand shape. Husband, wife. The reason it looks like this is because this is the sign for ¡§marry.¡¨ So, you have ¡§boy marry, girl marry,¡¨ which means ¡§husband and wife.¡¨ For ¡§grandmother,¡¨ take the ¡§mother¡¨ sign forward two times. ¡§Grandmother.¡¨ For ¡§grandfather,¡¨ it¡¦s the same thing. ¡§Cousin.¡¨ Use the ¡§C¡¨ sign and take it like this. Do not open your fingers. If you do, you have just called them ¡§crazy!¡¨ You don¡¦t want to do that! It¡¦s ¡§cousin.¡¨ The next sign is ¡§aunt.¡¨ Use the ¡§A¡¨ shape on your hand. Take it down and shake it. For ¡§uncle,¡¨ use the ¡§U¡¨ shape and take it down a little bit going on the side of your face. 

At most family gatherings, people always ask things like, ¡§How old are you?¡¨ You already know the sign for ¡§how.¡¨ You sign ¡§how¡¨ and the ¡§old.¡¨ This is easy to remember. Think of the beard on an old man. ¡§¡KOld are you¡¨ and just point. Let¡¦s do it again. ¡§How old are you?¡¨ 

Also, when you get together with your family, you always eat. Let¡¦s say there is a deaf child at your family gathering and you see this sign a ¡§C¡¨ hand shape going down your chest. You wonder, ¡§What is that sign?¡¨ This means ¡§hungry.¡¨ Now you know ¡§hungry.¡¨ Anytime you are on a trip and you have children in the car, they will always say, ¡§I¡¦m thirsty.¡¨ The sign for that is, point to yourself, ¡§I¡¦m thirsty.¡¨ It¡¦s like you¡¦re saying, ¡§My throat is so dry!¡¨ Take your index finger down your throat. 

They have told you they are hungry and thirsty. You respond with, ¡§What do you want to eat?¡¨ Let¡¦s sign that. You know the sign for ¡§what.¡¨ You point to them ¡§do you want¡K¡¨ a good way to remember this is by thinking that whatever you want is out there and you are grabbing it and bringing it towards your body. ¡§What do you want to eat?¡¨ This looks like the ¡§eat¡¨ sign. ¡§Eat¡¨ or ¡§What do you want to drink?¡¨ That is just a mime sign. 

The next question is very important and you don¡¦t want to miss the sign, because if you do, you may have to clean up the accident. That question may be ¡§Where is the restroom?¡¨ The way to sign that is an ¡§R¡¨ on your hand, left to right. ¡§Where is the restroom?¡¨ Or if they¡¦re really young and they don¡¦t sign ¡§Where¡¦s the restroom?¡¨ they¡¦ll put a ¡§T¡¨ hand shape and shake it back and forth. That means ¡§potty potty potty!¡¨ I know that once you tell them where it is, they will say ¡§Thank you!¡¨ 

Now you¡¦ve learned some of the family signs. This will help you if you go to a gathering with deaf people in your family.