Hello and welcome to TinyTalk in mid Cheshire. I’m Jenny, your local TinyTalk teacher (BSL Level 1) and mum to Mhairi (8) and Lachlan (4).
Finding a TinyTalk class was a revelation to me. I had started some baby signing with my son, Lachlan at home, but didn’t really know if I was doing it right! He loved music so using songs at TinyTalk to teach the signs was perfect for him and his signing came on rapidly. At 14 months he had a signing vocabulary of over 50 signs! Not only could he tell me his basic needs (food, milk etc)but I got a unique insight into what HE was seeing - a real window into his mind! I enjoyed it so much and experienced so many benefits of being able to communicate with my son that I started my own classes so I could share the rewards with others. I now get such a buzz from watching other babies develop and learn new signs and their families realising just how much their babies have to say!!
People tell me they love the classes because it’s so friendly and informal and they get a chance to chat about all sorts of parenting things as well as sharing a well structured, educational class with their babies – all this and the added bonus that they’re learning to communicate with their baby and set the foundations for their language development.
TinyTalk classes are 1 hour long- ½ hour of singing popular nursery rhymes, action songs and stories based on the weekly theme eg mealtime signs or animals. This is followed by ½ hour social time and a chance for adults to relax with a drink and biscuits while their babies socialise and play with toys. A weekly handout helps you remember it all at home. You can start at any time, subject to availability, and come for as long as you want to keep coming. There’s no extra charge for siblings and many of my TinyTalkers now come with baby brother/sister!