sign language
Over the course of the last two weeks, the preschool children have shown interest in sign language when we eat lunch together as a group. They’ve been practicing the words that are familiar to them like, “more”, “milk”, “thank you”, and “clean up”. With this child-initiated topic of interest, we decided to expand their horizons of sign language and brought out the ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet to practice some finger spelling at Circle Time. We show them the hand gestures for each letter and encourage them to try to do it with their hands. We’ve also practiced spelling some friends’ names and have learned how to sign emotions like “happy”, “excited”, “mad”, and “frustrated”. It’s amazing to see how fast they pick up on it and how many sign letters they can recall! This past week we practiced finger spelling the days of the week and are now becoming masters of the letters “D A Y”. We have also set out sign language sheets (same image as above) and letters as a tabletop activity so that those kids who are interested can refer to the chart to continue practicing on during open-play. Not only does sign language help build fine motor development, it provides another vessel for communication for the children. Some children may feel shy or low energy throughout different parts of their day. Knowing that they are becoming skilled at a different type of communication will help them build confidence in those moments. Children thrive off of having options for mostly anything, including how to communicate with their adults and peers alike. For families at home, dinnertime is a great opportunity to practice finger spelling common words or phrases you and your children use around the house. The image above can be downloaded onto an iPad or computer for easy access, or even printed off (you can also find the image on google when you type “American Sign Language Chart”). There are also different sets of flash cards on Amazon if your child seems really interested in extending their sign language use at home. Our next step in sign language will likely be learning common words that we use at school like, “please”, “thank you”, “today”, and “yesterday”. Feel free to share different words of interests your children may have at home and we can practice them at Circle Time, too!
If you want to keep your child’s interest in sign language going for some time, there’s a set of 500 Flash Cards of American Sign Language that has relatable photos of adults showing the movements for $17.06 on Amazon.
If you want a set of flash cards around for more common and every day words, this set consists of the numbers 1-10 along with 105 other common sign language terms that children typically use, with photos of cartoon-like children showing the movements. - $8.69 on Amazon.
One hand sign that Courtney brought to the classroom is called “Quiet Coyote” (pictured above). This hand signal provides a visual for children to join circle with calm bodies and quiet voices. The middle and ring finger touching the thumb represents a quiet voice, while the pointer and pinky fingers represent open ears and ready for listening. Courtney likes to use Quiet Coyote to minimize the voice volume level in the classroom during transitions and at Circle Times, that way teacher’s aren’t trying to raise their voice levels above children’s, making it a more relaxed and well-regulated experience when we are together as a group.
Dear firefighters
With all the fires that have been burning throughout California, the children have been drawing pictures and writing letters to the firefighters, rooting them on and thanking them for everything they do. To build on their interest in letter writing and firefighters, we’ve introduced and created several salutations/greeting cards that the kids can refer to to practice writing it themselves. We’ve also discussed all the gear that firefighters wear as well as their functions and ultimately wrote one big letter as a class. As the fires continue, children have consistent interest in writing letters and discussing the role of “the helpers”. Once we collect all of their written letters, we will take the children to the post office where they can personally send their letters off to the firefighters. If you know a firefighter, give them an elbow bump for all their hard work and bravery!
a note to families from the preschool teachers
Thank you for all of your encouragement, flexibility, patience, and understanding during these unprecedented times. We hope that you are staying safe, healthy, and enjoying the time you have outside in nature when the smoke or the heat isn’t keeping you inside!
With love and gratitude, Courtney, Alice, and Rebecca.