Hi, my name is Emily and I am your local TinyTalk teacher with classes currently running in Woodley.

My experience of signing with my son Thomas is a fairly typical story. I took him to classes when he was 6 months, having had no experience of sign language. I enjoyed singing the songs and spending some quality time with my son, not to mention having a cup of tea made for me and indulging in a chocolate biscuit! When we got home the only signing I really did was when we were at the park feeding the ducks and at around 8 months he signed “duck” back to me. I was so proud!

By 13 months he was able to do more than 15 signs; my strongest memory of getting a real insight into his thoughts was when he signed bird and tree during his nappy change… I thought he was a bit loopy, but when I looked out the window there was a bird sitting on the tree.

I truly believe that signing increased his understanding and desire to communicate.. at almost 3 he is quite the chatterbox now, but signing really helped during his early attempts to talk- his version of the word along with the sign enabled me to decipher his meaning and avoid any frustration. We still use signs for fun and he is very proud of himself when he says a word and just decides to show that he knows the sign, and says “that’s it, isn’t it!”

Each class consists of 30 mins singing nursery rhymes accompanied by the appropriate signs, along with dedicated teaching of 5-6 core signs relevant to that weeks theme. The second half is social time, where you can enjoy a drink and biscuit or two and chat to the other parents whilst your child plays.

So why not come along and find out what your child is thinking...