A Beautiful Landscape and.....a Tantrum?!

This is the view from one of our local playgrounds.  Often, as we play here, we get the chance to see a train drive by (plenty far away to be perfectly safe!) and hear the gratifying "toot toot" of its horn. This is often the highlight of our trip for my 18 month old, who LOVES trains right now.

Normally, it's "out of sight, out of mind," and once the train passes we go back to playing and having a great time.  On one recent trip, though, Mr. L. was more obsessed with the train than usual.  After the end of the train passed, he stayed seated in the mulch where he'd plopped himself and pointed in the direction of the train track.

Without the blessing of early communication that Signing Smart has brought to my family, this might have been the beginning of the end.  This situation could have quickly turned from enjoying the train to pointing to whining to full on melt down and tantrum.

Luckily, we have been blessed with the gift of communication, and I was given a window my little one's mind - in a way that is well beyond what he is ready to share verbally. Here's how our conversation went:

Mr. L: signed TRAIN (which is always accompanied by a verbal "choo choo" right now).  

Mommy: Oh, the TRAIN is ALL-DONE now, buddy, it went BYE-BYE.  Let's go back to playing.  Do you want to slide?

Mr. L: TRAIN ("choo choo")

Mommy: ALL-DONE.  The train went by.  It's ALL-DONE now.

Mr. L. MORE ("mo")

Mommy: I'm sorry bud, I can't make more train.  It's ALL-DONE for now; it went BYE-BYE We'll see one another time.  

Mr. L: ALL-DONE ("ah duh")?

Mommy:  That's right bud.  It's ALL-DONE for right now.  Let's go play.

This time, my re-direction was successful.....mostly.  He did get back into playing on the playground equipment, but there were a few more times that he stopped and asked about the TRAIN ("choo choo.")  After one final request in the car on the way home, he seemed content to wait for another day.

Signs are such an important part of the way that I communicate with my boys that it's hard to play "what if."  "What if" we didn't give this awesome gift to our boys (and ourselves)? "What if" I had to rely only on what Mr. L. was able to verbalize? In this instance, I probably would have surmised that he was talking about the train we'd just seen. The rest....I'm not sure.  I do know that we would not have been able to have as complete and in-depth of a conversation as we did.  I do know that many tantrums spark as a result of frustration when a little one is unable to communicate his or her thoughts successfully.  I do know that I'm glad I don't have to find out the hard what what the answers to those questions are.  Signing Smart saved my day once again! :)

National Grandparents Day

I decided that celebrating grandparents for just one day wasn't enough, so I've been shining a light on them all week long via my Facebook page!

This post is dedicated to some very important men and women in the lives of little ones, big kids, and even some fortunate adults.  Even those who are not lucky enough to meet these special people are, none the less, touched by their legacy.  Whether right next door or thousands of miles away, grandparents hold in their hearts enough love for as many children, grandchildren, and even younger generations as they get the chance to know.

During my time teaching the Signing Smart curriculum, I've had the pleasure to meet a few of my pupils' grandparents.  Many more, I didn't get the chance to meet in person, but I did hear about them in bright-eyed stories shared by moms and dads during class.

Thank you to all of the grandparents who have shared stories of wisdom, passed along traditions, and loved all those who came after them the best way they know how!

That's Not What I Expected!

How many times have you found yourself saying "that's not what I expected" today?  What if you counted up all the times you've said that this week?  This month?  I've lost track by now!

One (unexpected...haha) lesson I've learned as a parent is that expectations are often fruitless.  Trying to figure out when my baby will sleep, what he'd like to eat for dinner, or guessing which book he'll pick for bed-time reading is almost always.....WRONG.  Sure, he may have slept, eaten, and read the same thing at the same time all week.  Today, though, is different!

Even with slightly older children, things often end up different than what we anticipate.  In my house this week, we got the chance to see a local high school marching band's preview show.  My 3 year old loves marching bands, and was super excited for this trip.  My 18 month old doesn't remember the marching bands we saw last fall, but we catch him jiving to any bit of music he hears.  I expected they'd be dancing and excited throughout the show.  Instead.....

No one screamed and tried to get away.  In fact, they were both glued to the musicians and silently engrossed in the show.  But neither boy even cracked a smile.  Not at all what I expected!

The same can be true when you are a Signing Smart family.  Based on Dr. Lindert and Dr. Anthony's research, we have some idea about when babies and toddlers might start signing back. We have some idea as to when subsequent signs might show up, too. So often, though, our calculations are off.  

Occasionally, babies sign back much earlier than we expect.  That's always exciting! When this happens, it's easy to second guess what we're seeing, though.  It's a very natural reaction to say to ourselves "it's much to early, that can't be a real sign."  (It can be, and it probably is!)

Other times, it takes longer than predicted for our little ones to reach that first sign milestone.  It can be frustrating when this happens.  There are lots of factors that can affect when we see that first sign. (Developmental readiness, motivation to communicate, other impending milestones, consistency, etc.) Regardless of all the good reasons that can affect timing, when we're excitedly anticipating that milestone and it doesn't happen as timely as we'd like, it's still a disappointment.  

Expectations are an important and necessary part of daily life.  I certainly don't suggest walking though life completely unaware of what might be around the next corner.  However, I do recommend you temper your outlooks with a grain of salt.  It's important to know what to be on the lookout for, but I hope you can learn from my experiences - don't put too much weight on your expectations.  Just when you think you know what's going to happen - it won't!  Perhaps that's part of the fun of life with small kids...they always keep you on your toes!

Detective Eyes #6a

Did you check out Miss C. and her signs?

Were you able to recognize these signs coming from those tiny hands:

LION

MOMMY

ALL-DONE

If you got them right, great job! If not, take a moment to go back and check out the pictures again.  Now that you know what to look for, do you see these signs? 

Recognizing approximations for signs, especially out of context, takes lots of practice.  Keep working at it and you'll be a pro in no time!

Detective Eyes #6

Can you recognize the signs Miss C. is using at 20 months old?

Miss C. what's your favorite animal at the zoo?

Who do you see?

Miss C.  do you want more dinner?

Check here to see if you were right!

Thank you to this adorable signer's family for sharing these photos!