LATEST STORIES
Sign Language!
Incorporating New Zealand’s three official languages into our daily practice. Sign language is New Zealand’s third official language and we are incorporating it into our daily teaching practice as another way to communicate to the tamariki.
Sign language is often associated only with deaf children and adults, but we want to emphasis the importance and relevance it has in our centre and how it has benefited all children’s learning and development. It is an important language to learn as it slows language and communication down, creating a calmer, quieter environment as messages can be communicated across the room with gestures and sign language.
Baby sign is slightly different to NZ Sign language, but we have observed our pepī often have their own variation of the sign with what their hands and hand eye co-ordination is capable of achieving at their age. When we verbally communicate with our children we are encouraging their listening skills but when we incorporate sign we are adding a visual stimulus which can engage and support children’s learning, giving them the opportunity to communicate their needs with us before they have established clear verbal language.
Some benefits we have observed within our centre, reduced frustration and physical behaviours as we are teaching them another form of communication to release their emotions and voice their needs appropriately. Sign language is inclusive of all tamariki and all ages, language barriers may be hard for some tamariki in a multi-cultural setting, with use of repetitive signs they will develop a greater understanding, as it is a physical action to describe the word.
Sign language also supports children to retain information. Sign language supports verbal language and gestures, it doesn’t prevent children from using their voice, we have seen and heard children as young as 15 months old learn new words alongside the sign when they are interacting with us.
In our under 2's room - Pounamū we have seen our pepī voice their needs, especially associated around a care ritual, we are able to understand what the pepī are telling us. Our older tamariki are able to say please and thank you, ask for their miraka (bottle) ask for more kai and tell us when they are finished with their kai or activity they are involved in. Our non-verbal children are also able to express themselves and participate in play and interact with others!
Te Whariki, states, “Through communication children gain the ability to express their feelings and emotions in a range of appropriate non-verbal ways and to respond to the non-verbal requests of others". Think of a time you are trying to explain something to someone for the first time…do you use your hands, point and try to describe the story? For example, you want them to get something, you will point, you are hungry you might rub your stomach, you wave Hello by moving your hand side to side, you clap your hands to show others you are happy. We all sign and talk with our hands, often without knowing it.