Ever since Sophi learned the sign for milk, she thinks that if she waves her hands in the air when she talks that she is clearly communicating all the profound thoughts that she has swimming around in her head her whole life. She also seems to think that I will immediately and entirely understand those thoughts because she is using her hands. When I don't, she scowls at me and continues to waves her hands about while she babbles on. If I begin to wave my hands about, she nods her head in agreement until I ask a question. Any question... it does not matter what the content of it is. I just has to sound like a question. Sophi will always respond with an emphatic"no," and then follow up with a softer "no, no, no" and she shakes her head and walks away in disappointment. Poor Sophi.
One of the next signs I taught her after "milk" was the sign for "all done." This sign involves raising both of your hands in front you and turning them away from you, like this:
After weeks of signing "all done" as soon as Sophi was finished with her food, Sophi finally demonstrated that she understood.
I won't lie. The first plate of food to take flight across the room took me by surprise. I looked at Sophi in alarm, but before I had time to react... the fork, spoon, and sippy cup followed the same path as the plate. The fork nearly took out my eye. She then said very definitively, "Ah. Dun."
From what I've gathered in the weeks that ensued, Sophi interprets the sign for "all done" to mean that when she is finished with her meal, she is to push the food with force as far away from her as physically possible. Mealtime ever since has ended with a game of duck and cover as we have diligently worked on a new approach to signaling we are "ah, dun."
One of the next signs to go awry was the sign for help. This sign involved presenting a thumbs up on top of your hand.
Sounds innocent enough, right? Well with Sophi's eye hand coordination still in development, Sophi thinks left hand is her elbow. So when she needs help, she reaches across her body with her right arm and then lifts the left arm up from her body and shouts "Ep!"
If this is hard to picture, let me paint it a little clearer. My darling 18 month-old child is unintentionally giving me a very angry hand gesture. Even more disturbing, "ep" sounds more like "up." The first time she did this in daycare, the teacher raised an eyebrow at me. "Help?" I said, "She is trying to say help. Honestly, She is trying to say 'help'."
I could go on and on and on, but I will conclude with today's discovery. To sign "socks" you take your two pointer fingers and alternate as you point down towards the ground.
Everyday as I put on Sophi's socks, I sign "socks," and in the time it takes me to grab her shoes, Sophi promptly transfers the socks to her hands. It has taken me weeks to figure out why she kept doing this. In retrospect, the answer seems obvious. Today, however, she comes running through the house with a sock on one hand like Michael Jackson. When she sees me, she comes to a complete and full stop and exclaims, "Ssks!" while making the sign for "socks" with her hands.
"Yes, Sophi. Socks," I replied because some miscommunications are just so darn cute.
One of the next signs I taught her after "milk" was the sign for "all done." This sign involves raising both of your hands in front you and turning them away from you, like this:
After weeks of signing "all done" as soon as Sophi was finished with her food, Sophi finally demonstrated that she understood.
I won't lie. The first plate of food to take flight across the room took me by surprise. I looked at Sophi in alarm, but before I had time to react... the fork, spoon, and sippy cup followed the same path as the plate. The fork nearly took out my eye. She then said very definitively, "Ah. Dun."
From what I've gathered in the weeks that ensued, Sophi interprets the sign for "all done" to mean that when she is finished with her meal, she is to push the food with force as far away from her as physically possible. Mealtime ever since has ended with a game of duck and cover as we have diligently worked on a new approach to signaling we are "ah, dun."
One of the next signs to go awry was the sign for help. This sign involved presenting a thumbs up on top of your hand.
Sounds innocent enough, right? Well with Sophi's eye hand coordination still in development, Sophi thinks left hand is her elbow. So when she needs help, she reaches across her body with her right arm and then lifts the left arm up from her body and shouts "Ep!"
If this is hard to picture, let me paint it a little clearer. My darling 18 month-old child is unintentionally giving me a very angry hand gesture. Even more disturbing, "ep" sounds more like "up." The first time she did this in daycare, the teacher raised an eyebrow at me. "Help?" I said, "She is trying to say help. Honestly, She is trying to say 'help'."
I could go on and on and on, but I will conclude with today's discovery. To sign "socks" you take your two pointer fingers and alternate as you point down towards the ground.
Everyday as I put on Sophi's socks, I sign "socks," and in the time it takes me to grab her shoes, Sophi promptly transfers the socks to her hands. It has taken me weeks to figure out why she kept doing this. In retrospect, the answer seems obvious. Today, however, she comes running through the house with a sock on one hand like Michael Jackson. When she sees me, she comes to a complete and full stop and exclaims, "Ssks!" while making the sign for "socks" with her hands.
"Yes, Sophi. Socks," I replied because some miscommunications are just so darn cute.
