There is so much we take for granted as adults: concepts that we now own as fully functioning humans. But we forget sometimes how challenging those concepts can be. Simple ideas like right & wrong, same & different, and right & left!
Here at SignShine®, we talk often about different learning modalities: kinesthetic (remembering or understanding via action), Visual (remembering or understanding via sight), and Auditory (remembering or understanding via sound).
One of the neatest components of Sign Language is that, if spoken while signing, it incorporates all of the learning modalities: Kinesthetic, Visual, and Auditory!
So how do you apply this? Well it’s simple really, and like most things worth doing, it requires consistency and commitment! (Don’t worry, we’ll provide the tools to help you make that happen!)Signing is active visual and exciting, grabbing your baby’s attention: it entices the senses! Sight and sound when coupled with the appropriate facial expression makes sign language a full and complete language represented visually!!! That means intonation, stress, and punctuation are all represented through the body! Could there be a more complete definition of communication?!
So how does signing serve the concept of learning left from right and right from left?
Signing incorporates a visual: The hands provide a visual stimulus that helps to identify the concept of right by labeling it with a “R” moved in the direction of the RIGHT, and LEFT by moving an “L” in the direction of the LEFT.
Sign Language adds a Kinesthetic Component: As you move the hand to the Left for “LEFT” or the right for “RIGHT” you are attaching movement that fully describes the concept of LEFT and RIGHT. Helping your little one’s brain to embrace the idea that directions can be labeled by a name: left or right.
Speaking helps to solidify the concept: At SignShine® we always instruct parents to speak while signing. Why?! Well the main reason is because it is natural as a hearing adult to speak while signing, but we also want to bridge the left side of the brain that processes auditory information and the right side of the brain that processes visual information. Combining verbal language with the visual sign helps to create the pathways that foster brain development. All of this helps set up your little one for success as he or she begins to understand difficult concepts that we take for granted now that we understand them.
Let Sign Language aid in your baby’s brain development! There is so much to be learned, why not provide every tool that you can!
Happy Signing!