Welcome to TinyTalk baby signing classes in Teignbridge, Devon.

My name is Helen Fox and I am your local TinyTalk baby signing teacher. I am Mum to Hope - 7 years and Jake - 3 years, as well as being a childminder and qualified nursery nurse.

I first discovered TinyTalk when my daughter Hope was about 8 months old and she enjoyed the classes from day one. She did her first meaningful sign ‘bed’ at 9 months during lunchtime. I couldn’t understand why she was crying and refusing to eat lunch. From her highchair she signed ‘bed’ to me - I’d not even realised she was tired but after putting her to bed she was asleep within moments. My excitement was immense! The signs kept coming from there - ‘milk’, ‘more’, ‘hug’, ‘please/thank you’, ‘sorry’….but my very favourite one ‘I love you’ will always remain amongst my most cherished memories.
I suddenly had a new respect for babies and very quickly realised that there’s so much they want to say. It allowed me to gain an insight into what my baby was thinking or looking at. I really feel signing helped us to avoid the frustrations so often felt as both parent and child struggle to understand and to be understood.
It’s never too early to start signing with your baby - we've had lots of babies that were only a few weeks old at the classes. When Jake arrived in 2008 I started signing with him from soon after birth and attended local classes. He first signed back to me at 6 months with the sign ‘milk’ and from there the signs just kept coming! By 18 months Jake was regularly using over 100 signs to communicate. He’s now 3 years old and his speech is well ahead of expected targets for his age, he talks in long sentences and has become a real chatter-box!
When the opportunity arose in 2009 to take over the local franchise I realised it was the perfect time to share the joys of baby signing with other parents. I started my own baby signing classes in Teignbridge, Devon and haven’t looked back!

Classes are fun and relaxed and last for one hour. Signs are introduced through well-loved songs within the first half-hour. Each week I teach 5 key signs, and each fortnight we recap those from the previous 2 weeks, with time for instruments and shared signed book time too. There are also plenty of additional signs within the nursery rhymes and actions songs we sing, so you and your baby should quickly and easily become familiar with many signs. Afterwards, it’s ‘social time’ where we all enjoy a cuppa and a chocolate biscuit whilst your baby plays and you can both make new friends.
The sooner you start to come to the classes the sooner you will become familiar and confident with the signs, and with time your baby will start to recognize the signs and realize they are part of everyday life and then try to sign back to you!

There is a further class for babies to progress on to – TinyTalk Toddlers! It’s designed for children aged approximately 18mths to 3 years who are steady on their feet and are starting to talk. It’s a fun and exciting programme developed to encourage and support your child’s speech and language development. The classes follow different themes and include new vocabulary to take children to the ‘next step’. Each week includes singing, and some weeks will also include a sign supported story, a language development activity or a parachute or lycra game. These classes foster good speaking and listening skills, as well as developing other essential pre-school skills for toddlers. Please note, for your child to get the most of this class it does require a degree of parental participation – you’ll be rewarded with chocolate biscuits at the end, and hopefully a chatty, tired child!

Come and experience the benefits of early communication through TinyTalk baby sign language and Toddler Talking

What better way to spend precious time with your baby or toddler.

Please contact me for further details and to check availability.