Sandra Valmary
Sandra Valmary is the mother of 12 month-old Celeste. She uses French and sign with Celeste and her husband Neil, English and sign. The signs are a bridge to both languages as they are consistently the same, providing a kinaesthetic clue to the meaning of spoken French and English.
Celeste made her first conscious sign yesterday. We were sitting on the floor in Neil's study and I pointed to him and said to her: "Look, this is Papa" while signing "Daddy". She looked at me and did the exact sign for “Daddy”. I was so pleased I clapped and cheered! I had noticed she moved her fingers a lot when she talked (sign babbling) but nothing had made sense so far. I am so glad! When I started the “Signing with Babies and Young Children” course, the first thing I did was watch the “Transforming Lives” DVD – and a whole new world opened to me.
I was very aware that the first three years in a child's life are crucially important and this may be why the whole programme appealed to me: it gave me directions and food for thought about child development, child/parent relationships and behaviour management. Through the activities and assignments, I came to realise that each and every one of the activities I do with Celeste has learning outcome not only for her but for me as well. I don't think I am the same mother I would have been.
I had already subscribed to the Natural Child Project website and read the Dr Sears books on attachment parenting and it seemed to me that the “Signing with Babies and Young Children” programme was supporting this whole idea of building a strong bond from birth, developing a lifetime relationship based on respect and trust, giving your child a strong self esteem, tuning into your baby so that you know each other so well everything will run smoothly later on.
The Signs for Success™ programme doesn’t teach sign language as such (though there are hundreds of signs to learn), it shows how signing with babies and children can help you to achieve specific goals such as expanding a child’s spoken language or building a strong positive relationship. There are numerous tips and clues and paths to follow.
And all the behaviour management signs together with the philosophy espoused in the course helps me raise my child in a positive way, avoiding punishment, bribery and time out. Here is an example of how “Signing with Babies and Young Children” course made a big difference to the whole relationship between me, Celeste and the world …
Before the programme, Celeste and I would walk in the park and she would point towards things. I name the objects and we go home, and that's it. With the programme, we go for the same walk. Celeste points towards things and I give her their names. We talk about the things she seems very interested in and I bring her attention to other things she might be interested in to show her too. Then when we go home I look for the signs for those words on the DVD’s (mainly “dogs, sun, birds” and “planes”) so I can use them during the day.
When we next go to the park we look for the same things but this time I sign as I say the word. Finally, we go to the park with Neil and he says the words in English as he signs. The programme has helped build our relationship and Celeste’s understanding of spoken language. It has also widened her and my knowledge and perception of the world in its smallest detail. Now I am very aware of how important I am to Celeste and that she learns through me!
When I talk to people about signing now, I emphasize the fact that I did the programme to help build a great parent/child relationship. “Signing with Babies and Young Children” is the greatest support for parents and children alike, as it restores babies and children to where they should be, the most important people in our society. What Celeste and I have learned and will continue to learn, is going to last a lifetime."
