Hi, I’m Catherine and this is me with my TinyTalkers, Sam & Lily. I took Sam to TinyTalk classes when he was a tiny baby and we quickly realised just how many benefits there are to teaching your baby to sign – improved communication, reduced frustration, a wonderful sense of achievement for you both, and lots and lots of fun!

From that magical first sign (in Sam’s case, ‘milk’ - done very energetically one morning when he obviously wanted to make sure I knew what was next in his routine!) right through that tricky toddler phase, signing allowed Sam to express his needs, wants and interests. By 12 months old he could tell us when he had seen a bird in the park, when he had eaten enough of his dinner, when something was hurting, when his nappy needed a change, when he was ready to go home and which was his favourite animal in his books. We had so much fun sharing this window into his world at such a young age and it was so useful being able to understand him and respond to his needs rather than guessing away while he became more and more frustrated! The confidence he gained from being able to communicate through signing carried on into his first attempts at speech, and during this stage we found signing really useful in helping us to understand the words he was trying to say, once again avoiding lots of misunderstanding and frustration - phew!

We're now having lots of fun all over again signing with Lily - Sam is loving being able to teach her and it has become something special they share together, another wonderful benefit of signing with your children!

I love being able to share the benefits of baby signing with other parents and their babies at my relaxed, fun and informal classes. Each class is an hour long - the first half an hour is spent signing and singing to popular nursery rhymes and action songs, based on a theme each week (e.g. family, mealtime, animals), and we use lots of props, puppets and musical instruments to make it really fun and interactive for the babies (and you!). The second half an hour is social time when babies can play with lots of lovely toys and interact with each other, grown ups can have a rest, share experiences and make friends, and enjoy a cuppa and chocolate biscuits, and I can provide any signing support you may need.

Baby signing really is an amazing and rewarding experience for you and your baby - and that moment when your baby makes their first sign is priceless! I’d be thrilled to share the benefits with you at one of my classes - bookings are now being taken so if you’d like to find out more and check availability just give me a call or email me. Hope you and your little one decide to join us!

PLEASE NOTE THAT DURING MY MATERNITY LEAVE, JEN STANBROOK (ANOTHER FAB LOCAL & EXPERIENCED TINYTALK TEACHER) WILL BE RUNNING ALL BEESTON CLASSES FOR THE AUTUMN 2010 AND SPRING 2011 TERMS. PLEASE CONTACT JEN FOR BEESTON AVAILABILITY AND BOOKING ENQUIRIES DURING THIS TIME.

Catherine x