- Builds a common foundation for third most popular language in the United States
- Reduces noise levels in your classrooms
- Minimizes stress and frustration for both your children and your staff
- Significantly reduces aggressive behavior, including a great impact on biting problems
- Demonstrates the fact that your childcare facility actively participates in each child's development
- Accelerates development of verbal language
- Improves integration amongst diverse populations
Incorporating signs into your program does not require learning all of American Sign Language. Educators use simple signs, ASL vocabulary, while they speak to their children. They sign "eat" when it's snack time or lunch time. They sign "more" before giving more.
Typically, the educator introduces single signs while speaking an entire phrase. For example, while asking "Do you need help?" she might only sign "help". By reinforcing key spoken words with signs, educators provide children with messages both aurally and visually, helping to focus a child's attention while strengthening that child's understanding of the words and concepts. This helps preverbal infants and toddlers discover the meaning of these words sooner while simultaneously giving then a modality to express their needs, desires and observations. This can happen long before they develop the fine motor skills required for verbal speech.
Preschoolers and kindergartners get a fun multimodality experience that has been scientifically proven to grow their spoken vocabularies (see supporting research). Children with special needs gain a means of expressing themselves and connecting with their care-giving adults as well as with typically developing children familiar with ASL signs. Moreover, all children exposed to signs are building a foundation for a second language, American Sign Language, the third most used language in the United States.
Sign2Me Northlight Childcare Advantage Program (NCAP)
The Sign2Me Northlight Childcare Advantage Program was designed and developed for childcare centers that recognize the significant benefits obtained by incorporating an American Sign Language program for hearing children into their regular curricula. Sign2Me NCAP provides the resources, tools and support to facilitate a quality signing program utilizing the products and services of Sign2Me.
Step 1: Fill out an application today and start your facility on its way to incorporating the third most popular language in the United States. Fill out the NCAP application and join the community here.
Step 2: Purchase a Membership Package that works best for your childcare center.
Review which NCAP Membership Package works best for your childcare center here .
"We have signed with the children in our child development center for years. They are using the signs regularly and it is very rewarding and exciting to see them effectively communicate with us. New staff members are excited about the many benefits that signing can offer and eager to learn this method of communication. One of the benefits is that the children in our childcare center are less frustrated because they can 'tell' us what they want. Their parents are frequently amazed and very excited about this process. Most of them use the signs at home as well. I wish that I would have known about signing with babies when my four year old was an infant."
-Casandra Hulse - Lead teacher of the infant program in a Childcare Facility, Alaska
Childcare Facility Finder
Looking for a childcare facility that incorporate the incredible communication tool of sign language? Search for a childcare center near you that utilize the tools and resources of Sign2Me. It's easy with the Sign2Me Northlight Childcare Facility Locator search engine.
