Listening to a Variety of Music establishes a solid musical foundation.
Today we heard music from
England,
Scotland, The Virgin Islands,
Jamaica, and many regions of the
United States. By exposing your baby to a variety of music from many cultures, you’re helping her build a large library of musical tastes and appreciation from which to choose. Listening and feeling both the steady beat, and a syncopated beat also establishes a neurological awareness of these things, building a foundation for later development in that area.
Not only is this important for her musical development, but it helps her to learn to listen more carefully and be more open to new experiences.
Signing with Your Baby
Your Activity Page for this week talks about signing with your baby. Throughout this semester, you will learn various signs in American Sign Language. New research shows that even hearing children who learn sign language know more words than children who don’t know sign language. Typically babies are ready to respond to signs at around six to nine months of age, but they may be recognizing signs earlier than that. Cora started using signs around 10 months, her first sign was “more”. Every child’s timeline is different, but every parent that I have talked to that has used signs with their babies agrees heartily that it expands their child’s ability to communicate, and gives them an advance on saying and using words.
The first signs we have learned in class are “stop” and “where”. You will be surprised at how often you may use these signs at home. I especially use the “where” sign a lot, as I am constantly looking for things, mainly things Cora doesn’t feel she can live without right at that moment.
When you are truly “listening” to your child, you realize which sounds mean what, and as you use signs, you will find your child can expand on their sounds by making up their own signs as well, and expanding their communication skills. I look forward to learning about all you’ve “said” to each other at our next class.