CARY, NC — What if you could talk to your kids before they start talking?
The learning experience has made American Sign Language a key part of educational materials for children in the early stages of life.
What do you want to know
- Cary’s Learning Experience daycare adopts American Sign Language as a way to communicate with children who don’t speak enough
- Teachers incorporate ASL into daily classroom activities
- Toddlers learn to sign before they speak
- Shannon Bushway, 28, has been teaching at TLE since 2018
- The cost of participation may not be affordable for everyone
The child care development franchise has locations across the country.
Nursery director Cary said infants and toddlers using their hands is a natural form of early communication.
“Especially with young children, the most important thing is their communication. Communication is the key to their learning. If they can communicate with the children, it can be much easier for the teacher to know what they want and for the child to know what they need,” Dia Shah said.
Shah has run the establishment for 14 years.
“To be able to talk and interact with adults and, of course, there are infants who don’t have their words yet. We can teach them a sign language to give them a foundation of language,” Shah said.
Excitement is part of every school day. According to one instructor, working with toddlers can be like teaching a moving target.
“For the most part, I always try to use my words with the sign so they can use the audio with the hand gestures,” Shannon Bushway said.
Bushway beckoned to a rowdy class of students whose names they can’t say. Every child cross-legged on the floor or standing with a block in their hand growls most of the time if they try to speak. She continually practices different signs with the little ones. The teacher touched her chin with her outstretched fingers to show “thank you”.
The 28-year-old pointed to an open container filled with oversized Legos. “Put it in the bucket. Help clean up. Thank you,” she gestured as they followed her lead.
Information is like glue if you can get their attention. Most children are between 14 and 20 months old and can’t speak with words, but these little ones cling to everything…literally.
Bushway said signing with them sticks in their brains more than you might think.
“It’s great to help them communicate when they’re so little,” the teacher said.
This is why non-verbal communication is part of the program.
Bushway has worked in early childhood education since 2018. The teacher said their approach to education matches the needs of their mobile student population.
“Look at the sign for the cow,” Bushway said as he read a book to the class.
Story time is a daily classroom assignment, as is singing.
“Babies on the bus go wah wah wah, wah wah wah,” the instructor sang to his students. “Wheels on the Bus” still seems like a useful children’s tune in 2022.
Ironically, a baby’s actions can speak louder than words. When Bushway raised his finger to calm the class, so did two of his students. Some expressions do not need to be pronounced,
“[Sign language] is a great way for them to communicate and learn when we know they are taking in information that they may not yet be able to communicate verbally. Being able to sign is so important,” Bushway said.
Bushway understands what it’s like to reach young people. The educator has a 5-year-old son and entered the Massachusetts child care field at another TLE center four years ago.
The mother came home every day after work to practice signing with her little boy.
When they moved to North Carolina, she began to speak fluently. “I continued my education in sign language with my children. While they were learning, I was also learning,” Bushway said.
Children are in a constant state of engagement with themselves, their classmates, inanimate objects and adults, so the program is designed to transform the world they live in into a classroom.
The small student/teacher ratio allows for individual instruction. Bushways said at this age they are still learning to regulate and process their emotions.
“I feel like sometimes they have all these choices to make and they really know what they want, but sometimes they just need a little help to reach their end goal without too many feelings. “Bushway said.
By discovering the space that surrounds them, they can discover themselves. Bushway said the development of strong cognitive, social and motor skills only happens if the child feels comfortable in their environment.
“I just try to work with them individually and help them regulate their emotions to achieve whatever they’re trying to do,” Bushway said.
Whether it’s choosing a color to draw on paper or finding the right cup to drink your milk.
This innovative style of education does not come cheap, however. The director said the family of preschoolers can pay $1,000 a month.
Parents of babies can pay up to $1,300 per month.
Shah said grants are available for children who cannot afford school fees.
Because you can’t teach who you can’t reach.
This program aims to transform the world they live in in the classroom.
Children are in a constant state of engagement with themselves, their classmates, inanimate objects, and adults.
The small student/teacher ratio allows for individual instruction. Bushways said that at this age they are still learning to regulate and process their emotions.
“I feel like sometimes they have all these choices to make and they really know what they want, but sometimes they just need a little help to get to their end goal without too many feelings,” Bushway said.
By discovering the space around them, they can discover themselves. Bushway said the development of strong cognitive, social and motor skills only happens if the child feels comfortable in their environment.
“I just try to work with them individually and help them regulate their emotions to achieve whatever they’re trying to do,” Bushway said.
Whether it’s choosing a color to draw on paper or finding the right cup to drink your milk from.
This innovative style of education does not come cheap. The director said the family of preschoolers can pay $1,000 a month.
Parents of babies can pay up to $1,300 per month.
Shah said grants are available for children who cannot afford school fees.
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