Cette

"Research shows that sign language hastens speech development, reduces frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves before they know how to talk." A 2000 study funded by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, shows that young children who learn sign language speak sooner than other children (Glairon, 2003). Read more from this article here. 


This year I started to teach my students some basic signs to help them communicate their needs without disrupting the class. Basically I wanted to use the sign language as a classroom strategy to decrease negative behaviors. 


As we sat around the circle the first week of school I showed children some sign language cards and we practiced using them. The words I taught them were, stop, bathroom, wait, more, and thank you. As the first weeks of school came and went one sign the children really remembered was the one for bathroom. 

Now the children don't say, "Cette" the somali word for bathroom or pee. They are using the sign for bathroom and telling me the word bathroom in English. During story time the children just use the sign and therefore are less disruptive to the group and still get their needs met. 

I hope to teach some more sign language to my students...what will be next?