sing and sign classes anyone? (sign language for babies)

jellyhead

we've got a much sought after place on the sing and sign course starting this week. it was a last minute thing, i was on a waiting list, so i haven't done any research yet, didn't think i would get a place while he was still young enough to go.

anyone got any experience of sing and sign? my baby is 13 months old. he knows a few signs but doesn't use them himself yet, i'm hopeless at signing and can't pick it up from the book i bought. i started classes when i was a teen but just couldn't get the hang of it. i thought maybe using signs as actions in songs might help me pick some signs up

it's £45 for this term of ten lessons though, so a discussion might help other moneysavers decide if it's worth shelling out for these special classes with songs, or if there are better (cheaper) methods of learning.

Bargain_Rzl

Jellyhead, I'm almost certain that Lillibet does something like this with her little one. If she doesn't turn up on this thread soon perhaps you might want to PM her?

SCREAMIN_BABIES

they do it at sure start were i am not so much a course but in everyday singsongs at toddler group they try to sign my son used to love it its a great way of learning , i tried when i was younger but at the time couldnt afford the course , but i learnt loads from it ,

good luck

mirandab

Im just about to start on Friday with DD2 (8.5 months).

Miranda

pjs_3

I taught my two little ones the basic signs that I needed for home life.Eat,milk,drink,more etc. I got the Sign with your baby book by Joseph Garcia. You can pick the book up cheaply form Amazon it has simple diagrams to copy and was quite fun and obviously much cheaper than classes. However if it is the social side of things you want then maybe going to the classes would be useful as you will meet other parents and babys? Although a parent a toddler group would be much cheaper for social interaction.

emg

I have mixed feelings about the whole Babysigning phenomenon as I feel it exploits parent's worries about their child. It's fine treated as a bit of fun but the thing that develops a child's language skills most effectively is lots of exposure to natural communication, if you are struggling to remember signs this could disrupt your normal communication style.

Babies do get a lot out of singing sessions and you can usually get free classes at the library (Baby Jiggle and Rhyme!). Most of these types of songs use actions although not necessarily signs. An awareness of rhyme has been shown to be an important factor in developing literacy skills.

inkie

We have a little girl who comes along to the church that I run - she has just turned 1, and she has learned the art of signing - it amazes me, I was communicating with her the other day. They use it in addition to the language - obviously a baby that has just turned 1 cannot say 'where has it gone', but she can sign it!

fesdufun

Hi, I have attended a course of Sing and Sign classes with my son. I only did a course as the classes were a 45 min drive away. My son didn't seem that interested in the classes as such, he doesn't sit still for very long. However he really appreciated the time spent together and has learn a few basic signs from it - milk, more, car, duck, bird, eat.

I also run a singing group at our local Children's Centre. We use simple signs along songs to encourage communication. We always stress that you should never sign in silence. Whilst the debate about whether it helps children to talk earlier is still going on the evidence does seem to show that signing can help ease children's frustations and help to reduce the number of trantrums.

The classes are really good for learning the songs which help you to remember the signs.

Hope you have a good time.

Lillibet_2

Hi Jelly

BR is right:T, I do take Spud to signing classes, although I do them through Tiny Talk.

I have been taking Spud since he was 5 months old & he is now starting to sign, although not in context just copying me or randomly at the mo. It doesn't involve singing per se, just nursery rhymes so don't worry if you cant sing! The basic rules are the word is more important than the sign so always make sure you say the word clearly, pref when Roo is looking at you & repeat it several times, if you can remember the sign too then great! I pay the same as you but on a weekly pay-as-you-go basis. I get 30 minutes of signing & singing with nursery rhymes & musical instruments & 30 minutes of playtime (with fab toys!) & mum-chat time. To be honest it's my favourite activity of the week! If any of the signs you have been using so far are different to the ones the teacher" uses, don't worry but go on using the ones you have started with.

I must admit that during the classes Spud is more interested in gazing lovingley at the teacher (:rolleyes:) than watching the signing etc but I treat the classes more as an information point for me then carry on the good work at home.

Feel free to PM me or ask on this thread if you, or anyone else, wants any more info.

HTH;)

bylromarha

As someone the other side of it...

I did babysigning course (no singing!) with DS 7 months, kept using the signs to him. He started using them back at about 11 months, gained a whole range of signs, then gradually dropped them as he started to speak with the sign...he's now 2 (just) and he doesn't use any signs now as he says all the words he used to sign...every now and then I get an occasional sign for thank you, but it was a great tool to have for communication.

highly recommend it.

BTW: My course was free + had free childcare too. It was run by the family centre attached to the local church. I asked how they managed to fund it and they said they had LA funding...worth looking into.

Jodie1975

I used to do a few signs with my son when he was a baby. It was really handy for him to be able to tell me he wanted more food or drink before he could speak by signing it to me.

I'm pregnant again and intend to learn more about signing for this baby. I found this great site https://www.chelltune.co.uk which has lots of useful info and very reasonably priced goods for signing.

Good luck with it, it's so rewarding!