March 2, 2021
By Sara Silva – STARS Coach, Child Care Connections
From the very beginning, children are trying to communicate with loved ones around them. Using body movements and gestures are one of the first languages that children use to try to talk to you. (Take a quick look at this grandmother and infant communicating with each other without the use of any verbal language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7IlnTG7wzk&feature=youtu.be) Think of the infant who points and then looks at your face expectantly or the fussy toddler that holds their arms above the air in the universal gesture for “pick me up.” Incorporating the gestures of American Sign Language into the classroom will give all children a tool to be able to communicate, whether they are verbal or nonverbal.
The most fun way to introduce children to sign is to add them in for keywords in favorite songs. We know that young children love fingerplays and by adding signs to their favorite songs we can make fingerplays even more meaningful by teaching a new gestural language while engaging children through movement. Here is an example of adding American Sign Language to the nursery rhyme, Hickory, Dickory, Dock: www.singplaylove.tools/squeak It can also be helpful to add keywords (in sign) to the rituals and routines of your day (such as “more” and “all done” during meal times) and to the reading of children’s favorite storybooks.
When adding signs to your day, it is important to keep a few key strategies in mind:
- Always say the word while signing it
- Pick words that are relevant to children’s interests and experiences
- Rather than signing every word, pick keywords in phrases, stories, and songs to teach
- Teach just a few words at a time
- Make repetition your friend and use sign throughout the day
- And most of all, have fun exploring this different way of communicating!
Signing Savvy.com offers a sign dictionary to make learning new signs simple and fun. Just type a word into their dictionary and a vision of how to do the sign pops right up. Or you can pick a preselected category of words and browse for ideas.
Find out what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say about teaching signs HERE.
