For the final week of my learning project I decided to take a different approach. For this week’s learning I focused on learning about baby sign. I wanted to know if it was common for people to use them and if they actually worked? I also decided that a research style learning this week would allow me to use some new resources like journals and articles that I haven’t really used throughout this learning project. I also wanted to learn a few of the signs but for the most part I wanted to learn how common the signs are and more about the baby sign as a whole.
For this weeks learning I used two main sources. I started off by using a resource that would help me become familiar with the different signs. The resource I used was How to Teach Baby 25 Key Words in Baby Sign Language. The format of this resource was super easy to follow and learn from. The different signs where labelled then described and also had a picture attached to demonstrate the sign. Once I had made myself familiar with a few of the signs I choose to move onto the research aspect of this weeks learning.
I started off the research aspect of this weeks learning by searching “How common is sign for babies”. From this search I found a really good website “Baby Sign Language: When, How and Why to Try It”. This website told me everything I need to know about sign language for babies like when to start teaching it, how to teach it and why to teach it. The website define baby sign by saying, “Baby sign language is an effective way to help your child communicate, allowing your non-verbal little one to express his needs before he knows how to use words.” It also noted teaching your child sign can help avoid a lot of frustration caused by trying to communicate which I think would be very helpful for myself this summer when I’m working at the daycare because I know how frustrating communication can be. I was surprised that the website suggested you can begin teaching sign between 8-9 months it seemed so young but I guess the sooner you can communicate the better. I was also surprised to learn that teaching you baby sign can actually help them start to verbally speak sooner because they become more excited to communicate.
Reflecting on this week of learning I am super glad I decided to take a different approach with this week. I definitely think teaching sign to babies does have lots of benefit and this is defiantly something I will keep in mind for when I have kids. This concludes the learning aspect of my learning project thanks for following along.
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