Montessori Method of Education at home for children 0 - 3 years

Sing Language for Kids

Many parents are curious about baby sign language. Sign language was made popular by the movie “Meet the Fockers” where Robert De Niro’s character was teaching his grand child to communicate using sign language. So the question is: Is sign language effective and helpful to non speaking children or is it just a novel child minding strategy that is popular at the moment?

Let’s look into it: Baby sign language means signing to a child who understands but still does not have the facility to be able to verbally communicate the needs. A toddler or a baby is often characterised with frustrations when no one can understand them and so since they are physically able, yet not verbally able, children lash out physically - by hitting, biting or crying. Sign language can get the message across successfully and immediately. Too often I have seen children who comprehend so much on what is going on around them and are in turn calm. Often we do not give enough credit to children that they can understand more than we think. We try to communicate to them at about 8 months and think they can’t understand what we are saying. It is not that a baby does not understand, it is that they cannot respond. Watch and you will see children’s comprehension in their eyes.

Teaching your baby sign language

A child will often point to what he wants and the adult will immediately run to his aid. This works as a way for children to express their needs, but imagine pushing this a little further and having special signs to help express themselves. Instead of just pointing, encourage the child to as well verbalise and attempt to say in words what they want.

A child can’t exactly point at a toilet if it is not nearby, or tell you he is thirsty if there is not a drink in sight. So how do we make this stage in a child’s life just a bit easier? Use sign language - this language need not be the official sign language that the deaf people use that you should learn, it can just be some understanding within your family and carers for your child. It can be the most obvious actions that one may do to indicate thirst, hunger or tiredness. It can start being a way of you communicating to your child, using both actions and words to get your message across. Like making a small wave to say ‘good night’ as they are led to their bedroom to indicate that it is rest time as part of their routine, or even making a gesture of drinking from an imaginary cup to indicate thirst.
One example of situation when sign language could be useful - you would see a toddler with a busy mother who just wants her child to do something, for example to get the shoes on, but there is protest from the child. The child screams wails and refuses to follow instructions. The adult have a desperate look on her face as this goes on and stress increases. It is only found out later on that it was not the result of the child refusing to go home, but that it was her socks being wet so she did not want to wear wet socks. Imagine if this was averted and instead of wailing making a sign for wet. As soon as it was discovered, the child put on her shoes without socks on.

Working and being with babies and toddlers is often a guessing game. One becomes a master of signs and reading expressions and communicating the same way back to them. As babies language develops it turns into a game of deciphering what they are trying to say. Sign language can be a way to help at this stage of the child’s life and make this stage a bit easier for all parties.
It I soften a pitfall and dangerous if sign language is not used properly. It has to be used in conjunction with verbal communication at all times. Remember we are simply using this until the child can properly communicate which we are further develope by communicating with them verbally too. Do not forget the main goal of making them speak and sign language is just the temporary pit stop or a stage of development in the communication line. Learning how to sign language as well is a multisensorial method of learning which by all means make the experience more concrete for the child and engages more parts of the developing brain.

Most children’s frustration comes from them not knowing what is going on when they are already becoming aware of their surroundings and society. Make this stage of being unable to speak and communicate easier with baby sign language. Communication is said to be 80% body language anyway, so why not exaggerate it? But never forget that it is just a phase that shall pass.

Written by: Emma

Find Sign Language DVDs and Books here:

Have experience with Baby Sign Language? Write a Comment!

Q: Every time my child sees a toddler at the park or home he starts pinching or hitting. I say ‘no’ but should I be giving a time out and if so it means I would have to carry him to the side and probably hold him for about 30 seconds? I am not sure if this is going too far? How do I stop his anger?

---

A: First and foremost analyze why he is hitting others? Is it jealousy; the other toddler has something that he wants; he wants to get into that space or the other child is in his space?Look at the environment and bigger picture so this situation can be dealt with in the future. Is it a language frustration for him to hit? If so, encourage him to speak with the other children. Model how he should be treating them and play gently with the other children.

If your toddler hits or bites in park, tell him to stop and that he needs to be gentle. Tell him it hurts other children and that it is not what we do. Then move him away to another section of the park. It is not necessarily to have time out but to simply avoid the circumstances to happen. It can be difficult to discipline in public but if he gets the message of what he is meant NOT to be doing he will hopefully be able to learn to positively socialize with others. The consequence for him hitting is that he is not able to immediately do what he wants to. If after a few minutes he does go back to that same activity with the other toddler, let him but remove him (model to remove him gently, not roughly as that is the behavior you do not wish to see) as soon as he goes back to the old behavior.

Activities to do with your toddler in the kitchen

As toddlers grow they become more observant and helpful with the activities that parents do every day. These are what Maria Montessori calls Practical Life Activities. One important aspect of practical life is food preparation.

Make your kitchen safe and accessible to your toddler. One can have a low drawer for their own utensils that they use, have a special place in the fridge for their food and drink that they can serve themselves. To allow toddlers to help you in the kitchen, a stool that gives them access to the kitchen bench is helpful. An apron can also be good to help with the mess. Remember, every time you start an activity in the kitchen teach your child good habits by always washing hands.

Benefits of food preparation activity:

• This activity makes the food more appetising to the child as they have had and important contribution as to how the meal is made. A good strategy for toddlers who are picky with food.

• It helps develop fine motor skills.

• Teaches the value of food and hygiene that goes with its preparation.

Simple food activities that you can do at home:

1. Spreading of butter or spread on a piece of toast or cracker.

Start this activity by having all the materials such as a small spreader or a small butter knife that will make it easier for your child to use, rather than the adult ones which may be too heavy for them. Have a plate for the mess to be contained and a small bowl of a small amount of spread (jam, etc), so that there won’t be too much waste when the toddler attempts it for himself.

2. Making a garden salad

This is a great activity for toddlers since there are a lot of ingredients and you can let your child do one depending on his ability. Have a colander in which each vegetable leaf can be washed. If your child is older you can give him a small sharp knife and allow him to cut cucumbers (tomatoes are particularly difficult to slice and should not to be introduced early). With cucumbers, you can also ask your child to peel it with a hand peeler. Place the cucumber on the chopping board while the child peels it.

3. Preparing apples

This activity is made child friendly by having an apple corer which can be found in shops. Cut the apple crosswise in half. Place the apple flat side down on the cutting board. Let the child push the corer down offering minimal assistance. Using small tongs, you can place each apple slice in a prepared bowl.

4. Peeling a hard boiled egg

This is a great activity for refining toddlers‘ motor skills. Cook the hard boiled egg and cool. When cooled, crack the shells gently and peel a piece or two to start off the process then allow your child a turn. Once the egg is peeled with some of the white gone, cut the egg using an egg slicer. Use tongs to remove the egg pieces from the slicer.

5. Juicing an orange

Cut the orange in half with a sharp knife. Have the juicer ready and a jug for the juice to be placed. Allow the child to squeeze the orange and finish it off. Allow them to pour the juice in a jug, add water and sugar as desired.

Having moved to another country on the other side of the world and not having my mum around to give all the advice that you sure need when you have your first baby, looked like a very hard task at the time. My daughter was 10 months when I decided to go back to work, as the idea of being at home with no friends and family around was very difficult, so I was very, very lucky to get a job where they had Childcare in the premises and where they run a program called MONTESSORI, which I never heard of.
Everyone kept of telling me how wonderful the experience was and I wondered what was so special about it.

My daughter had been at another childcare just for 2 weeks before I got the job, so I can say from experience that it was very, very different. The whole environment was just beautiful and I was so excited about the surroundings that of course a baby had to be too!

I liked the Montessori approach very much, as it is simple and logical, as my grandma would have done it in her time.
I read a couple of Montessori books that I was recommended by one of the teachers with the idea of how to set my home to be as interesting, safe and beautiful as the classroom.

The books were very good; they explained the different stages that babies go through from 0 to 3 and, the most important thing, what they need to develop to their potential. That gave me a completely different perspective, my daughter was not a little baby that needed me to do everything for her, she did not need all the expensive toys that the shops and ads make us believe they need, she just needed me to know what she was experiencing at every stage so I could be there to give her all my support and help.

From then onwards, I modified some things around the house to adapt to her needs and tried to copy some of the things I saw at the childcare too. I was amazed to see all the things that babies can do, if you allow them to! They sit at tables and drink from glasses and lots of other things as early as 7 months!

At the time, when she was not walking, I moved the furniture around my living room, so there was more room to move around and also surfaces where she could try and pull herself up. Nothing is encaged in my house, there is no room that she can not access, and we even have stairs that she loved to use when she started crawling. I have never used a playpen or any other confined space.

I bought a table and chairs for her size, and I put it in the kitchen so she would not sit in the high chair to eat, in most cases when she sat in the highchair she would throw the food to the floor, to see how it landed from high up.
I bought small glasses that she could handle easily and a little jar to pour the milk and water from (which she can use perfectly now at 21 months).
I used, instead of plastic cutlery, the coffee spoon and dessert forks.
I have been changing things in the kitchen since then; I designated a cupboard to be hers, so she has her plates, glasses and cutlery, an apron to help me with some cooking, some table cloths and napkins, so while I prepare her breakfast in the morning she sets the table. There are also cloths to help with spills on the floor and a little brush.
On her table she has a small basket with fruit so she can chose the piece that she will have as a snack on the way home.
We spend most of the time in the kitchen and we have a great time preparing salads and peeling boiled eggs and other activities.

I bought some floor cushions and put them in her room where she could sit to get dressed or put her shoes on, and in the living area where she could sit comfortably to read a book or play with some toys. I learnt the lesson that less is more, and stopped buying her every toy I liked and started thinking what that toy would help her understand, so a little toy with music and lots of lights did not mean anything to her at the time, and she wasn’t even interested, so I got her real things, books with real pictures (which she adores) and wooden toys that would last for a long time, and are beautiful as well.
In the living room there is a whole cupboard for herself with books, crayons and paper, and loves going through it to fins the activity that she wants to do.

Her room is simple: there is a cot, a rug where she loves to do some Yoga poses, and the floor cushions. Her wardrobe is set up so she can get her shoes and daily clothes easily and the dresses and other special clothes are hanging higher. There is a side table with her precious things and photos of friends and family.

In the bathroom she has a bowl with her toothbrush to wash her teeth, with a little toothpaste and a glass for rinsing, now at 21 months is her favorite activity. There is a basket where she has her towels and her brush and a small mirror at her level so she can see herself easily.

All around the house I put pictures and things that she has painted at her level, and loves looking at them and recognizing the faces!

Outside, in the garden, she has her small watering can to help Dad with the plants and loves taking the tomatoes and peppers from the plants once they are ready.

When I tell my mum about all the things she can do she is amazed.

When I look back over the last 2 years I can say have not missed any of her big steps and I have helped her with her development as best as I could have, and HAD A LOT OF FUN on the way.

Now most of my friends have kids in their “terrible two’s” like me and all I can think of is that we do not really know what the kids are trying to do and need. I don’t know everything myself either, but one thing I can be sure of, I am trying my best and my daughter is a very happy girl, and I like to think that Montessori helped me achieve this.

Gemma