Signs

Starting last week, Maia, Cara and I joined a baby sign language class. We tried a few signs a while ago but it has been several months since Maia learned (and promptly forgot) the sign for "more". The class inspired us to get back to it and we were surprised to see how quickly she took to them!

We worked with her for an evening and by the next morning, she was asking for more with the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for "more". As if she were thinking to herself "Now that I know how to ask for more, it would sure be nice if I could ask them for water.", she picked up the sign for water within two tries. Soon after, she tried the sign for "book". That one is still a bit rusty, but we are getting to know it. Since then, she has asked for more food, more water, more bath (using the sign for water), more tickling, and more of her book.

This is a whole lot of fun. I kind of wish we started doing this earlier. There is a lot of research that suggests a baby of Maia's age has cognitive development that progresses far past her ability to vocalize the words that she WANTS to say. In other words, her vocal chords are not as developed as her brain. Signs are much easier for the baby to use to communicate with us. By encouraging communication, we are bolstering her self esteem as well as (hopefully) preventing her from getting frustrated with her lack of communication skills.

It has also been a really great bonding experience for us. You can tell that she gets a real kick out of being able to communicate to us.

We will be attending our classes for several more weeks (8 more, I think). We'll see what comes of it!