Get Ready for Back to School in 2023 with Sign Language
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As summer winds down, the school year approaches with many parents looking forward to getting back into a routine. Whether your child attends day care, Mother’s Day Out, or full-time school, your child will be transitioning to a new classroom, teachers, and friends.
As with many other transitions, this can take some time for your little one to adjust. If you haven’t considered it already, I highly recommend using sign language when preparing your little one for back to school!
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Benefits to using sign language for back to school
We are creatures of habit, and the sense of “new” can be very difficult for our little ones, and ourselves, too! Whether it’s school for the first time, a new building, new teachers, new classmates, or simply going back to the same environment after time away, preparing for this transition is a great idea.
Why?
Sign language can help your child communicate his/her needs, wants, and feelings with you.
It is possible for your child to be able to communicate using sign language using words that they cannot say using verbal language.
This can result in fewer meltdowns, tantrums, and times of frustration.
Want to use sign language with your little one?
Sign Through the Seasons: Summer is an all-inclusive activity workshop that equips you to implement meaningful activities, targeted signed vocabulary, and intentional learning for your baby, toddler, or preschooler during the summer months! Learn more about this seasonal e-course here.
Get Started Now with 10 functional ASL signs to start using with your baby or toddler right away. Learn 3 tips to ensure you are using signs correctly and with realistic expectations. Whether you have already started signing, or just warming up to the idea, this free guide will take you one step closer to your goal!
Check out my online resources for parents! Browse my current offerings.
ASL signs for back to school
SCHOOL: can be used during your morning routine on a school day, when you arrive to school, as you drop off your child, and again when the school day is over.
BACKPACK: use this sign as you are packing their bags, loading the car, and checking for correspondence & work sent home at the end of the day. Our little ones are always so proud of their backpack, as they should be!
BUS: perfect sign to use as you spot school busses, sing “Wheels on the Bus,” and prepare for school transportation if you have a bus rider.
Back to school toddler book recommendations
Reading books with positive back to school experiences will help prepare your child for this transition. Incorporate the signs you know as you read together.
Bear’s Big Day is an adorable board book about Bear going off to school. While he is a “big bear now,” he realizes he misses his lovey at home.
The Pout Pout Fish Goes to School is about this beloved character feeling defeated on his first day of school, but his teacher encourages him that she will help him through it!
The Kissing Hand is a favorite of mine! The little racoon and his mother have a special way of reminding one another their love for each other when they are apart.
I have compiled all of my back to school favorites on my Amazon storefront. Click here to check them out!
Back to school preparation ideas for toddlers and preschoolers
As you begin to prepare your child for the transition back to school, or beginning school for the first time, give some of these a try:
Drive by the school often, letting your child see the building and talk about their teachers, friends, play time, lunch, nap, and their day.
Create a sensory bottle (such as this one) together. Talk about school and what to expect as you create it. This can be used later as a “calm down jar” if your child ever feels anxious about school.
If you have any toy school busses, process art is a fun activity! Use any type of paper (such as butcher paper, construction paper, etc), washable paint, and let your little paint the tire tracks of the school bus! Babies and young toddlers can also get in on this fun if you put the paint inside of a ziplock and tape it down onto a surface, such as their highchair. Sing “The Wheels on the Bus,” too!
