Sign language is an integral part of Howick Kindergarten‘s routine, as we always begin our mat time by greeting each other using sign language.

For New Zealand Signa Language Week, we revisited the much-loved ‘Old MacDonald’ song with sign language. Repeating stories is beneficial, especially when we have new children joining us in term 1. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning the signs for farm animals, and they were so enthusiastic that they wanted to learn the names of insects too.

We continued with the story ‘He aha tēnei’. Teachers discussed how we can communicate with people who can’t speak by learning sign language, and the children exclaimed, “Now we can understand each other!”