I love singing and sign language so Sing and Sign classes seemed like a perfect fit. This is my honest and non-biased review of Sing and Sign classes in Brighton.
Singing is a huge part of who I am – I am trained as a soprano and have loved to sing from a young age. BSL, while not as important, is a part of who I am. I may not be very well trained in sign language it does not change my love of it.
When I was pregnant I investigated all the sign language classes available. There were some that were very close but it would have been covering American Sign Language (ASL). Sign Language comes in many forms and for me BSL is best but for my LO it is Makaton, which is a version of BSL that was developed for those with learning difficulties so perfect for babies.
I found sing and sign classes – it seemed too good to be true, it was makaton and singing based. These classes seemed like the best option so without doing a taster, I booked a whole term. As my LO was around 7 months old I booked in for Level 1 and was very excited.
The morning of my first session I am not afraid to say that I was nervous – what if I hated it and I had wasted all that money. I am very happy to say that the first class was amazing.
Despite having covered level 1 BSL years ago I learnt so many things. There were so many useful and great songs. Our teacher Liz was so kind, caring and amazing that I left the class buzzing. I was so excited that I went through all the new signs to DH when I got home.
A few days later I got an e-mail from Sing and Sign covering the key points of the lesson. It came with great reminders and tips to keep up regular signing. There was even lyrics to one of the songs too.
Each week was just as wonderful – it felt like it got better and better as I got to know the songs and other parents. The weekly e-mails were a great tool to discuss with DH about what was covered and act as a reminder. Sing and Sign Brighton have a Facebook group that students can join and this too was a great source of information and support.
LO is obsessed with Jessie the Cat
I think the reason I love them so much is how they have been designed to flow. The babies have a chance to play with toys at the start before they are put away to not distract them the rest of the session. Throughout the hour musical instruments, Jessie the cat (their mascot) and themed toys come out before the toys come out for the end of the session. Liz is able to cover the new signs in a way that is interesting for the babies in and out of song and then put them into a song. If you miss a week it isn’t a problem as we would cover the previous week briefly or through songs repeating so that you can really learn them.
LO is obsessed with Jessie the Cat – each time Jessie comes out she gets so excited and runs to say hello. All the babies seem to love when the cat comes out. It is so sweet seeing how happy it makes her seeing that stuffed cat.
It may sound like this was a sponsored post but they have no idea about this post or that I blog at all. I really can’t praise them enough because they really are that good. After only 3 weeks of lessons my LO was signing milk. By the end of the 10 weeks she was signing over 10 signs and so very vocal. These classes are amazing and I will not stop – I tell all the parents that I meet but often people ask me first when they see my LO signing.
To add to all the wonderful times in class, I was able to go to some of their summer party sessions. One of these was two days before LO’s birthday. Near the end of the class Liz brought out an envelope and the whole class sang “Happy Birthday” to her! It was really wonderful and I was so sweet to find out that as LO’s birthday was out of term time that Liz had made it especially as normally Headquarters would send one.
We have now started level two and it is just as great as the first term. Having recently tried a different baby sign language class, it has really shown me just how great Sing and Sign really is. I love Sing and Sign – they will have an advocate for life. LO has been able to communicate her wants and needs far sooner than other babies her age, which has reduced tantrums and tears. If you have a baby 6 months or older I highly recommend seeing if you have sing and sign classes near you – they really are worth the money.
Overall Review: 100/5
Venue: 5/5
Professionalism: 5/5
Class Content: 5/5
Handouts: 5/5
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