Just a little recap, I go to school full time, have two children (one of which is in multiple classes a week), am married, work two part time jobs, have siblings that I help out constantly, have four dogs, work on projects at my house constantly, keep my house in livable conditions on a daily basis, and yet still I found time to learn sign language with my daughter. So I repeat, if I can squeeze it in, anyone should be able to.
When my daughter turned six months old we enrolled in a beginners sign language class. My husband, my daughter, and myself went once a week for six weeks for an hour each class and started learning the very basic signs that we would start teaching our daughter. These signs ranged from milk, more, eat, mom, dad, the alphabet, and so on. Really in the scheme of things it was not a huge time commitment but we were able to take a lot away from the class, not to mention the great family activity it provided us with.
After that class we focused on the signs we knew from there for a long time. Then when Brooklyn was around one and a half she started to show an interest in our iPhones, I know, it’s crazy how young they are intrigued by such things. My husband and I were both anxious to learn some new signs as our daughter loved signing and we wanted to continue to foster that interest, so we downloaded an app for children to learn sign language on, much like the ones below. We were able to learn a new sign while waiting in a doctors office or while waiting for our food at dinner. It was quick, easy, and we could immediately use it with our daughter.
Then one day when my daughter was two we had the genius idea to replace her Disney movies she was allowed to watch in the car with educational dvd’s. This is the only time she watches television so we figured we may as well make it educational.
I went to the library to check out their selection of learning disks and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that they had an entire section of sign language disks aimed at children. We checked one out and I put it on immediately. My daughter learned 5 new signs that day being in the car for 40 minutes! And because the instructor not only signs the word she is teaching but also orally explains what to do, I was even able to get the gist of a few of them while I was driving (not using my hands to actually sign, of course). This was a genius idea and it has truly paid off. Brooklyn now teaches her brother signs anytime she learns a new one and is always so excited to watch her video. One would never know that she is watching something educational by looking at the smile on her face.
There are many videos you can buy or rent to watch and learn, as well as apps, flash cards, posters and classes you can take to learn sign language like some of the options shown. There are even children's sign language television shows you can watch with your child!
As you can see, sign language is not some sort of secret language or special club one must be approved of joining. It is accessible and fun to learn and like anything, the more time you put into it the more signs you will know and the more fluent you will be able to sign, but regardless, even if you only put a little time and effort into it, you, and your child, are sure to reap amazing benefits.
To prove how accessible sign language is, take one minute and learn a new sign right now!
MILK
No comments:
Post a Comment