Do you know sign language?

One of the most frustrating parts of my life right now is that I know that Kate NaNa has a million things to say, and no way to say them. She is so smart, and she is understanding more and more of what we say in English. She usually has to grab my hand and take me to whatever it is she wants. But let's face it, in a house with three kids, and housework out the whazoo, I can't always drop everything to try to figure out what it is that she wants. I feel like it turns into a guessing game where she eventually just picks one of the choices I give her, simply out frustration with me. I know it won't be like this forever, but until we can get her the surgery that she needs and speech therapy, communication is a huge issue.

So, this past week, we have introduced sign language into our home. It's something that I always thought was a great idea to use with kids, but I just never got around to doing it with the boys. According to the sales pitch, signing with young children can reduce temper tantrums, increase IQ, and increase vocabulary. And for our family, it is a necessary form of communication. Kate's cleft palate simply won't allow her to say many words. So now, I have a great motivation!

We are learning ASL from a series of videos called Signing Time. It is a PBS show geared towards kids, so it is simple enough for old people like me to learn. There is lots of music to hold the kids' attention, and the boys are picking it up like crazy! I can't believe how quickly they are learning simple signs. Kate is also learning how to communicate with us. So far, she has learned the signs for banana, milk, more, cookie, and hungry (do you notice a trend here?). We are so pleased that she can ask for what she wants (when she wants one of the above things:). The library has 5 episodes, and we have only watched 2. I think it won't be long before we have to ask them to purchase some more! For those of you interested in learning more, click on the link above or ask your local library if they have/will purchase the Signing Time videos.