Julie's Class Hall of Fame
Below you'll find a selection of the best photos - taken in class and ones you have submitted of your little TinyTalker signing at home. Also the best of the signing stories that you have shared in class. See the next tab for star signers! Finally, there are some class testimonials taken from the end of term feedback forms. If you would like to become a part of this page, please contact me with your contributions asap!
"I've been with Julie for the last 3 1/2 years taking my first son & then my second son. Every Thursday night my eldest gets so excited knowing he is going to TinyTalk in the morning. It has helped amazingly with communicating with my boys & has especially helped with my eldest who has slightly struggled with his speech. Julie is a wonderfully enthusiastic individual & every class is full of fun & energy often ending in my boys having a nap on the way home....always a bonus! She makes everyone feel so welcome & very quickly bonds with the children! I'm not looking forward to the day we no longer go as the boys are too old!"
STORY: My own daughter Katie's first sign "milk"- January 2009.
I had thought that Katie had signed milk earlier that week but as you'll all know, when they first sign at you and you are by yourself, you can't quite believe it and worry that it may not happen again! (and no-one will believe you!!)
On the Saturday, we had gone out for a meal and Katie slept in her carseat between us in the booth right through to dessert. As the icecream arrived, she opened her eyes, looked straight at her dad, stuck out her hand and did the milk sign. Well, he nearly fell off the seat in shock (as he thought I actually just sat and drank coffee with ladies on a Monday morning!!) and she drank the whole bottle :)
My son started Toddler Sign when he was two, having never been to baby sign. He'd had an issue with his hearing and had grommets fitted. He wasn't really talking and he woud get very frustrated when he wasn't able to communicate. He loved toddler sign from the very first class and so did I! Julie and the other members were so friendly and welcoming. It wasn't long before he started joining in with the activities and became confident enough to start saying a few words. This was the first place I heard him count to five! He is now talking all the time, infact he never stops!! We are still going to classes as he enjoys all of the activities and its a great place for mom to have a nice cup of tea and biscuits too. Thanks
STORY: Sophie - 5.5months "milk"
Sophie was crying in the evening only a couple of hours after feeding. We assumed her teeth were hurting her so tried various remedies. We then notices that she was frantically doing the milk sign so I gave her some milk and she drank the whole bottle!
PARTY FEEDBACK! Thanks for making Jessica's 1st Birthday really enjoyable with all her friends! You were just perfect with all the nursery rhymes, teddies and toys.
STORY: Bethany - 11.5months "more"
I was eating my dinner. I had eaten it all and started to cry. I started to clap and my mummy said 'do you want some more?'. I then signed "more" correctly like mummy was doing and nodded my head. My mummy cheered and clapped and gave me some more food :)
TODDLER CLASSES: I say go for it especially from 2 upwards. Aids communication and limits toddler frustration when they find it hard to communicate.
STORY: George - 6.5months "milk"
I was at my Grandma and Grandad's with Mummy and when Mummy prepared my bedtime bottle, I did the milk sign. I now do the milk sign at every feed to tell Mummy and Daddy that I am hungry.
Invaluable for baby & toddler interaction and understanding your child from an early age. Brings you and your child together.
STORY: Evelyn - 7 months "milk"
I forgot to give her milk!!! She normally has a feed at 3pm but at 3.30 she started to get a bit grumpy. I thought of putting her down for a sleep but then she did the milk sign! I realised I had forgotten to give her a feed so fed her then and she took the whole 9oz in 5 minutes! She was tired though as well because she then slept for an hour an a half! (tiring work this signing lark - Julie x)
Fantastic Fun atmosphere. Babies and Parents enjoy all aspects of the class!
STORY: Evie - 8.5months "cat"
I was playing with mummy in my bedroom when one of my cats came into my room to see us. I looked at my mummy and she signed 'who is it?' I replied "cat" using the sign! Well done Evie, Mummy is very pleased with you ! x
A fun class and my daughter enjoys coming here. She took a while to start signing but once she started it was amazing! I would definitely recommend it for bilingual children - we speak 3 languages at home.
STORY: Cayden - 6 months "drink"
(Julie says - Cayden's mum had come into class for at least three weeks in a row thinking that he might have done the sign for milk but couldn't be sure, so didn't want to claim it as his first sign. It caused quite some excitement in class each week to see if he had actually done it. On the fourth week, when asking for signing stories, the whole class looked on with baited breath to see if Cayden had now done the sign and his mum even tried to get him to sign in class....but no. So we all turned away to carry on with the class when.......)
I was in class when my friend's mom Sally suddenly noticed that I did the sign for drink and mommy gave me my water!!
(Julie says - well done Cayden! But fancy stringing us all along for all that time and then not letting us all see you sign!!!)
It is the highlight of our week!
STORY: Stephen -9 months "milk"
I was sat on Daddy's lap (in class) watching the signing after I had some milk. I wanted some more so I signed for milk and mommy gave it to me.
(Julie says - well done Stephen for doing your first sign for us all to see!)
Come along and give it a go - it is such a laugh! Something a little different, fun and it is working!
STORY: My Son Ellis, having been signed to since birth this time around (as I started at 3 months with Katie) did his first sign at JUST 9 WEEKS OLD!! He had his bottle as usual and ordinarily that was sufficient. However, after this bottle, he was miserable (most unlike him) and his right hand by his side kept twitching. Nanny asked if he was signing and fetched another bottle which he drank half of! I was not so sure but sure enough, later that day, he did the same thing! Clever little boy! x
Please come to these classes - they are great! I would definitely recommend that you ignore all comments about it slowing down speech - my son's speech rapidly improved upon starting classes
I'm now on child number two with TinyTalk. I love the fun classes and I really feel that learning signing with my eldest child really enhanced their speech and vocabulary.
TINYTALK BIRTHDAY PARTY: Thankyou for making Rosie's first birthday so very special! She had an amazing time and so did all her friends, young and old!! I would recommend anyone to have a TinyTalk party and to come to class. We have so much fun!
This opportunity to develop 'sign' with my baby through to toddler has been so enjoyable and one of the most rewarding aspects of my child's develpoment. It has increased my enthusiasm and passion for baby sign and its benefits for very young children.
My daughter was quite young when she started (a few weeks) but she has always seemed to enjoy the classes. She loves the singing and dancing around! I like meeting other mums, having a drink (and sometimes a cake ;-)) Thank you!
I work in a Children's Centre that promotes baby signing so I thought it would be nice to do it with my son. He has benefitted by being able to sign as he doesn't speak yet and it helps meet his needs. We really enjoyed all our sessions. Thank you Julie. We have had a fabulous time and learnt so much to share together.
My daugher is gaining in confidence from playing and watching during the session. we love joining in with the singing and using the signs. It is well organised with a good mixture of signs, singing, movement and play. Thank you!
I go to TinyTalk Classes to meet other mums, for my son to interact with other children, and to learn signing. You are extremely welcoming and have a great energy! Thanks very much for a fab term and definitely see you next term!
We enjoyed the whole term. Every week there was something new. Julie is very organised, happy and friendly :)
TinyTalk Toddlers - we find it enjoyable and my daughter mixes in well. We enjoy the singing and it is nice to spend time together. I felt that my daughter's communication was greatly improved and she skipped baby talk and went straight to talking properly. Very Good Class & Sorry to leave.
I can honestly say that I really enjoy the TinyTalk Class and so does my little one! I've tried several different types of classes but this is the only one that I really feel relaxed in and believe that we are learning from. I love the fact that it is more than half hour, that I get to have a chat with the other parents and that I get a drink/biscuit. Julie is really encouraging and enthusiastic - I now rarely feel selfconcious about singing/taking part. Thankyou so much!
TINYTALK BIRTHDAY PARTY: It's difficult to know how to celebrate your 1 year olds birthday; all the invites go to very young children. How do you keep them entertained? Having a TinyTalk party took away all the pressure as the children were entertained. The dads and other family members got to join in and look silly and see what they/we do in class. We didn’t have to bring lots of toys because there were toys as part of our TinyTalk party for everyone to play with. Julie made everyone feel welcome and got everyone involved. TinyTalk entertained everyone and was the highlight of the party. Many people enquired about the classes in their areas. Having a TinyTalk party was the best decision we made. We will be booking again next year!
Seb loves the singing! The class stimulates his senses and helps him socialise with other babies. Julie is lively and friendly so it is easy to relax in class and not be so self conscious when I'm singing!!
I come to TinyTalk classes for something fun to do with baby and I also know the benefits of baby signing. She loves it - really happy and is mesmorised by Julie! I love all of the class. Julie is very enthusiastic and the children love that and it is a relaxed atmosphere.
Olivia loves the classes and smiles so much at the songs! If she enjoys it - I enjoy it! She has learnt to sign milk and really watches what I do with my hands, even when I am not signing to her! I love seeing all the babies together absorbing so much and it is lovely to chat to the mums and Julie over a coffee. I'm really impressed with TinyTalk and can't wait for the next semester!
Learning baby signing enables us to communicate with each other and meet other families. My favourite part of the class is all of it - especially choccie biscuits! Thankyou for your enthusiasm and energy Julie!
TinyTalk is our favourite activity and we are always sad at the end of term! (Lisa has now been with me for 7 years across 3 children!!)