Sign Of The Week 今週の手話

The Sign of the Week this week is bike! 今週の手話は「自転車」です。

At our house we also use this sign for bicycle, tricycle and unicycle.　家では、一輪車、三輪車のこともこのサインを使ってます。

ママのひみつ: Here's another "mommy hint" that I've discovered - kids, even infants, like to know what is going on.  They want to know where we are going and how we are getting there.  The sign "bike" can be used to help explain the plan for the day in simple terms.  An example "We will ride mommy's bike to the store and then come home to eat lunch". Using the sign for "bike" in this natural setting not only helps your child to learn that the word and sign have the same meaning but also gives your child another way to communicate the word "bike" to you when she is ready.   

Take a look at this dictionary for beginners to learn signs for other things you do each day!

Books for practicing the sign for "bike" as well as other forms of transportation:
"Bike"のサインを練習するためのおすすめ乗り物の絵本:
Small World: Away We Go

のりものいろいろかくれんぼ
Bears on Wheels

Here is a clip from when my daughter was 15 months old.  At this age many kids can make noises but have fewer than 10 spoken words. In this video she uses 7 signs, 3 for words that she was not able to clearly pronounce until a year later (bicycle, airplane, motor cycle).  An additional benefit we enjoyed was that she could play with her older brother, using signs, clearly expressing which toys she wanted to use.  As a mom this was wonderful to see!