momstown west Toronto was privileged to have Karla Velasquez of WeeHands visit our Baby Basics program to teach our momstown mamas some signs to use with their little ones! Did you know that babies can learn to sign before they can speak? And that sign language gives them a way to express their wants and needs, easing their frustration? It also allows parents to know what their babies are thinking, curb challenging behavior, and have fun “chatting” about daily activities. Being able to communicate with a very young child is thrilling.
During our session, we were treated to a reading of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, complete with the signs for each animal. Plus we learned the ASL alphabet, and how to sing and sign Old McDonald Had a Farm. Awesome! I've been incorporating the Old McDonald song with the signs into circle times all over the west-end, and the children love it.
One of the benefits I've witnessed with friends who used sign language with their babies (sadly, I missed the boat on that one and wish I'd looked into it!), is the amazing ability to help your child communicate. As parents, we've all had the screaming child who obviously wants something, but we just can't figure out what it is. I'm amazed when I see how much babies are able to convey through signing, often eliminating that trial-and-error process to determine what it is that they would like. As you can imagine, we learned the sign for MILK!
Here are three good reasons to use American Sign Language (ASL) with your baby:
1. It allows babies to communicate before they can talk.
2. Research supports and encourages its use.
3. The ability to sign enhances learning and may lessen frustrations.
And momstown's 4th reason - it is a lot of FUN!
For more information on WeeHands classes, you can find Karla's website here or you can email her at karla@weehands.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment