Baby signing classes

Our courses last for 10-weeks allowing us gradually to build up your signing vocabulary. Each week we start by introducing a group of key words (starting with important baby signs like ‘milk’ ‘more’ ‘all gone’ ‘food’ ‘drink’ for example). As the course progresses, there are plenty of chances for revision and repetition of the signs you have learnt. We show you how to focus on signing just the key words when speaking (i.e. the information-carrying words of each sentence). Our classes are carefully designed to meet the needs of parents hoping to introduce this early vocabulary.

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Toddler sessions

In response to requests from local parents, we also run weekly one-hour sessions for toddlers/pre-schoolers (18 months upwards). These include a 30/35 minute fun signed sing-a-long session with time for chat, questions and socialising over a biscuit and drink afterwards.

Primarily, these are jolly sing-a-longs where we continue to use lots of the signs from our baby signing classes. We have added some concepts for older children (such as more colours), some knee-bouncers and other action songs suitable for older children.

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School & nursery sessions

We run singing sessions in a whole range of settings: mainstream nurseries; mainstream schools; mainstream schools with units; special schools and hospices. We attend a number of settings on a regular basis and have seen how the children enjoy participating in our sessions and how much their signing confidence grown each time we return. Hopefully staff and other support workers learn some signs to use after we have gone too! There is lots of useful literature available to support the use of signs in your setting. Our songbooks and CDs will be available very shortly and the MVDP produces lots of published materials, software, booklets and videos to reinforce the signs that we introduce during our session.

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Workshops for Professionals

Makaton is widely used by Early Years Practitioners (childminders, nurseries, schools and other professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists) in the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames (LBRUT).

As ‘Singing Hands’ we have been working with LBRUT’s Local Education Authority to train increasing numbers of Early Years practitioners interested in singing and signing with all children. We have also run singing and signing workshops for The Childminding Association, The Playgroup Network, The Learning Skills Council (LSC), the Down’s Syndrome Association and the Library Service. We have run sessions as part of a ‘Small Talk’ project promoting early literacy skills funded by the LSC. We continue with our sessions at the Three Wings Trust, MeToo and our local hospices.

Find out more about Workshops for Professionals