Many parents often wonder, "when will I find the time", when it comes to starting sign with their children. Between diaper changes, feedings, play groups, and a slew of other "new parent innitiations" there never seems to be an available time to sit down and teach signs.
The truth is, if you are looking for a perfect time during the day to teach a sign, it's when you are busy doing all those other things. The natural tendencies of signing with children makes it easy to fit it into the day. Think about it, when you teach your child to wave bye-bye do you sit him/her down and practice it? No, you teach them when it makes sense...when someone is leaving! Likewise, the perfect time to teach your child to sign "eat/food" is when you are sitting down to eat; teach diaper when you are changing diapers; and don't get me started on all the opportunities to teach signs during a play group!
Many parents worry that it will be too time consuming to learn sign themselves in order to teach it to their children. That's the great part about it...you don't need to! Your children aren't expecting you to carry on in-depth conversations in sign language; they just need one sign. So here's a tip: before you go out for the day, think about the things you are going to see and find out the signs for those things. Taking a Zoo trip? Learn to sign Monkey, Lion, Butterfly, etc... Taking a trip to the park? Learn to sign Tree, Swing, Slide, etc... There are great on-line resources out there if you just want to learn a sign quickly. I really like http://www.aslpro.com/
Taking the time to learn even just a few signs will open a door of communication between you and your baby that you never thought possible. Babies really are very intelligent. We, as parents, are the ones missing out if we don't make the effort to communicate with them.
Showing posts with label Getting Started. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Getting Started. Show all posts
April 10, 2010
April 2, 2010
Never too late to start
I love my job.
I love that every day I get to wake up and play.
I love that I get to teach children all there is to know about the environment around them, and that I get to watch them freak out with elation when they see something like a bug for the first time!
The beautiful thing about incorporating sign into daily activities is that the children understand it even more. I don't get those awkward looks as if the child is thinking "I don't know chinese!"
It's almost as though the children automatically know how to sign when they are in their infant stages. Think about it; how quickly does a child learn to wave bye-bye? Or shake their head "no"? This is sign language!!!!! It is a totally natural thing for kids to pick up on.
Here's a great example. I started watching a new child at my day care this week. She is 18 months old and her verbal skills are coming along great, infact, she is a sponge; picking up on almost every new word she hears. Learning sign for her would be beneficial because it will help her put concepts together with the words she hears.
She has had no prior experience with being taught to sign. On her third day here she was signing "more", "help" and "all done". On her fourth day she made the sign for "food", and today, her fifth day, she made the sign for "bunny" (we were decorating Easter eggs). You can't tell me that this is not unbelievable!!!!
My point in sharing this with you is that it doesn't matter when you introduce sign. It's never too late. Honestly, the later you introduce it, the sooner they may pick it up; simply because they have developed the motor skills to make the signs.
Just try it. Who wouldn't love for their baby to be able to ask for help instead of crying for it?
I love that every day I get to wake up and play.
I love that I get to teach children all there is to know about the environment around them, and that I get to watch them freak out with elation when they see something like a bug for the first time!
The beautiful thing about incorporating sign into daily activities is that the children understand it even more. I don't get those awkward looks as if the child is thinking "I don't know chinese!"
It's almost as though the children automatically know how to sign when they are in their infant stages. Think about it; how quickly does a child learn to wave bye-bye? Or shake their head "no"? This is sign language!!!!! It is a totally natural thing for kids to pick up on.
Here's a great example. I started watching a new child at my day care this week. She is 18 months old and her verbal skills are coming along great, infact, she is a sponge; picking up on almost every new word she hears. Learning sign for her would be beneficial because it will help her put concepts together with the words she hears.
She has had no prior experience with being taught to sign. On her third day here she was signing "more", "help" and "all done". On her fourth day she made the sign for "food", and today, her fifth day, she made the sign for "bunny" (we were decorating Easter eggs). You can't tell me that this is not unbelievable!!!!
My point in sharing this with you is that it doesn't matter when you introduce sign. It's never too late. Honestly, the later you introduce it, the sooner they may pick it up; simply because they have developed the motor skills to make the signs.
Just try it. Who wouldn't love for their baby to be able to ask for help instead of crying for it?
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