Online classes help babies and their parents to communicate
Our second Saturday Shout Out today goes to the Coventry and Kenilworth branches of Sing and Sign, an organisation established by speech and language experts to encourage early communication through signing as babies learn to speak.
Since 2001, the Sing and Sign programme has taught tens of thousands of parents across the UK how to sign with their babies, using music and play to make the process fun and easy. The project developed from observations of babies using a combination of gestures and sounds to communicate before speech is well established, such as pointing, clapping or waving. By using simple movements and gestures such as these, Sing and Sign classes are able to help parents and babies understand each other better.
In Coventry, sessions normally run at the AT7 Centre, Earlsdon Methodist Church Hall, Avalon Court Care Home and St. Peter’s Church and Hall, with local sessions also running in Kenilworth, Nuneaton, Warwick and Solihull.
Due to the lockdown, classes have not been able to take place in person for the last few months, but are instead being delivered online, with many teachers offering additional support to parents through Zoom sessions and WhatsApp groups.
By signing up to Sing and Sign @ Home, you can enjoy a full-term of Sing and Sign classes online, with 10 weeks’ worth of themed, 30-minute sessions, each one available to watch for a week. Parents can choose between “Stage 1” (recommended for newcomers and younger children) or “Stage 2” (for babies over 14 months and already familiar with Stage 1).
More information about how to sign up to a class near you can be found on the Sing and Sign website. You can also check out the Coventry and Kenilworth and Coventry North branches on Facebook.
