I stole these pictures off of Chad and Erin's blog, but I just had to post them. It was a great day and a major step in Jackson's life.
So this past Tuesday, I took Jackson down to Erin's parents home (since she is in town visiting) and had a little play date. Her daughter Brianna is a doll! Jackson and her seemed to get along really well.
While we were there Erin, feed Bri some lunch. Jackson of course wanted what Brianna was having, but Erin had him sign the word "more" when he continued to come back for more. He started signing "more" on his own and watched very closely when Bri would make a sign and get something in return.
Jackson began signing the things Bri was and got the same great rewards. We popped in one of their signing videos and Jackson just started picking things up so quickly. He suddenly knew about 7 signs in about 15 minutes. It was crazy. At one point he just suddenly looked at his hands and started grinning, as if he was thinking, "Wow, look what I can do with my hands!" Which Erin caught with her camera.
Right after we left I drove to Barnes and Noble and bought him the same signing video. We have watched it almost everyday since then and he can sign...Cat, Dog, Bird, Car, More, Food, Drink, Candy (of course), and a few more! It has been so fun watching him realize he can communicate with me about the world around him.
All the credit goes to Erin on this one though. I took all the sign langauge classes offered at BYU, and always said I wanted to teach my kids sign language as toddlers (so we could communicate, before they could talk), but look at me, lazy mom, who tried to teach the sign "more" and gave up after a few days. So, thanks Erin, for inspiring me to actually use sign language with Jackson. It has sure been a major help.
7 comments:
Yeah! Way to go Jackson and Michelle! I'm glad you found the videos, I wasn't sure how easy they would be to find! It was so fun to see you!
That's awesome Michelle. It's amazing how smart kids are. I'm real curious--what is the video called that you got??? I think I want to try that with Emerson in the coming months. I never really taught Owen much sign language--he only knew about 3 words, but it's always been fun watching all the kids that know so many more signs. It definately makes things easier when they can let you know what they want!! It saves a lot of tears :)
That is so neat. Bytheway, you are such a cute mom and definatly not lazy. I am sure it has been helpful and how great that he picked it up so fast!
Michelle, that is so awsome! I really want to teach Megan sign, I think it would be so fun and helpful. That picture of him looking at his hands is priceless! How would it feel to finally be able to communicate! Yahoo for Jackson!
Hey Michelle! I'm so happy to find your blog. Your little boy is adorable. It's great to keep in touch with you this way.
Isn't it amazing how quickly they learn. It is no surprise to me though that they sign because they can understand what we are saying, just can't verbally say it back. Thank you to those who thought that up.
What was the name of the video that you bought for Jackson?? I didn't think Susie would stand a chance because I don't think she had ever watched even a second of any video. Then last night she sat and watched Sesame Street for 20 minutes. Now I'm interested in buying her a baby signs video.
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