When I worked as a behavioural therapist for children with autism, many of the children I worked with were motivated by movies, or television shows. Many kids had their own personal DVD player in their work station that could play any specific DVD that would we would use as reinforcement. One little girl that I worked with loved Signing Time. There was one specific DVD that she adored. I knew every song, and sign off by heart in no time! I think there were some nights when I had the theme song stuck in my head.
Fast forward a few years when I had Princess Peach. The Hubster and I did a sign language course with her when she around 5 months old. We immediately started signing with her and at 8 months she signed back for the first time! Oh, I was so proud and pleased! Her first sign was for “milk”. She signed “milk”, “eat” and “more” for a long time even after she could communicate using her words.
I love using sign language for a baby. Even though they can’t sign back immediately pairing a sign with the spoken word and the item together help reinforce it all for our little ones! I know for us sign language was awesome tool for us to communicate long before Princess Peach spoke!
So why did I tell you about the stories above? Well, Netflix has many Signing Time episodes availble! I introduced them to Princess Peach a few weeks ago and she loves them! It’s a wonderful introduction to American Sign Language (ASL) for young children. Each episode has two themes and the signs are repeated many times so whoever is watching is actually able to learn the signs. The show is very engaging and Princess Peach was totally glued to the screen watching what was happening. The series uses a variety of animation, live action and lots of catchy songs to teach sign language.
If you are looking for a fabulous educational series for your young children and family to watch and learn together, check out Signing Time! You will be surprised how quickly you will all learn something new!
Disclosure: I am a Netflix Canada #StreamTeam ambassador and as part of my affiliation I receive special perks.
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