I’ve not been very good at keeping up to date with this blog recently, since it is the school holidays life has been rather hectic.

Mara has continued to sign away and has picked up some new signs – cake and ‘all gone’. I’ve only signed ‘all gone’ to her in the context of food, I have used it to mean that she is finished eating. She isn’t a great eater, the little monkey throws her food off the highchair then signs to tell me that it has all gone.

The other day her brother was helping her to play with a shape sorter toy. She managed to get one of the shapes throw the hole, clapped and then signed all gone. I was surprised to see her use the sign since I’d only ever used it at the dinner table.

Mara has only just started to clap in the past week, she is almost one year old. I’ve read that when babies wave and clap it is generally a clue that they are ready to sign. My daughter has been signing for several months now yet only just started to clap her hands.

Two or three weeks ago we went to the seaside for the day. We stopped at a pub to have some lunch. Mara started to sign dog and attempt to say the word. We were looking all round trying to see where there was a dog. I then realised that the song, ‘who let the dogs out’, was playing on the radio. Her Grandad is very proud of her ability to sign, he has been telling everyone he meets about this. He was pushing her through John Lewis on Saturday when she started to sign dog, she had spotted a cuddly dog toy on display.

It is wonderful to be able to communicate with her so well, without being able to sign we’d not know what was going through her mind in situations like these. Likewise, on Sunday when my husband was carrying her she was signing away as she’d spotted some pigeons on the ground.

I mentioned above that she now signs cake.   She might not be a great eater but if she is offered cake she soon hoovers it up! The first time she copied me signing cake it looked more like the sign for more. She appeared to realise this and corrected her handshape. When we were in the shopping centre on Saturday she signed cake out of the blue. As far as I know there wasn’t any cake in sight but there was a really strong smell of cookie being baked in Millies cookie shop round the corner. Do you think she could have been why she signed cake? I have no idea if a baby her age could make an association like that.

Her second tooth came through last week, it gave her quite a bit of discomfort for a few days. She has been very congested and has been tugging her ear a lot as though she is in pain. I have signed hurt quite often, pointing to her ear and asking if it hurts. So far, she hasn’t signed this herself.

It has been reported in the press today that parents have complained to the BBC about the new cBeebies presenter, Cerrie Burnell. Cerrie was born with one arm. According to some parents she should not be seen on television incase she frightens children. The full story can be found on the Daily Mail website.

My four year old daughter is a fan of cBeebies. So far she hasn’t mentioned that Cerrie has a disability. She also watches Something Special, which stars children with a range of disabilities. Children are far more accepting than adults.

Taken from DailyMail.co.uk:

Disability groups have fiercely defended her and the BBC.

John Knight, of charity Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: ‘Disabled people experience disadvantage and discrimination like this every day, largely through ignorance. This needs to change.

‘Understanding disability all comes down to familiarity. The bottom line is that seeing disabled people on television should be the norm, not the exception.’

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Earlier today, Steve Masters of UK Parents Lounge interviewed Justin Fletcher star of Fun Song Factory, Tikkabilla, Higgledy House and Something Special.  You can read the interview over on UKPL.

Justin Fletcher has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2008 for services to Children’s Broadcasting and to the voluntary sector.

An MBE is awarded for:
* achievement or service in and to the community of a responsible kind which is outstanding in its field; or
* very local ‘hands-on’ service which stands out as an example to others.

Many of you will know Justin as the presenter of cBeebies Something Special and for his part as Mr Tumble in the same show. The show has become really popular and is well known for the fact that Makaton signs and symbols are incorporated into the programme. Justin has helped bring sign language into the homes of many preschool age children.