The Sing & Sign Team.

So.......we now teach 9 classes within my Franchise area. I made the decision quite early on that I didn't want to teach more than 2 mornings a week myself - although I did do 3 when then there was no one else to cover the Eastleigh classes.
That's when I decided to take on/train some teachers to work with me. There are have been a few over the years -Bo who left to work in Nurseries, Sian who moved back to Wales, Helen & Lou who left when they  had a second babies and Anita who was with us until last year - but now theres Me, Heidi and Kate. So how did I meet them and how did they start teaching for me????

Heidi - I first met Heidi when she started Stage 2 classes with her lovely daughter Eleanor. They had attended another baby signing class but were told they were now' too old' and needed to move on! Well, I'm more than happy to say they 'moved on' to bigger and better things by coming to 'Sing and Sign'. At first I didn't think Heidi liked me, she frowned at me a lot in class, but it turns out she was concentrating and really wanted Eleanor to get the best from the classes - phew!
We soon found we got on really well, so when I decided I'd like to stop teaching 3 days and have someone to take on the Eastleigh classes Heidi was an easy choice. This was over 3 years ago now. Heidi teaches classes in Chandlers Ford and Eastleigh at all our class levels and I'd be lost without her.
Quick note needed here to thank her very lovely husband Andy for all his help and support.

After a couple of years of Heidi and I teaching together, and Anita teaching for a while and then sadly having to leave us, we expanded the team by taking in Kate......

Kate - We met when Kate brought the gorgeous Noah to classes. He was a sponge as far a signing goes and progressed through Stage 1 and 2 learning and using the signs and keeping us all on our toes in class. Towards the end of Noahs terms Kate announced a new 'signer to be' was on the way and the lovely ever smiley Emily came along. During Emilys first term of classes I just happened to send Kate an E mail saying how busy things were getting. Her reply "looks like you're going to need another teacher" to which I said "you offering" and she replied "absolutely!!" I didn't need telling twice and Kate is the newer addition to the team now teaching Stage 1 classes in the Totton and Southampton areas.
Big Thank you to Kates husband Tim and Kates parents for their support to.

I now feel with have a very happy, stable and well rounded team and I hope it goes on for a long time.

So, what do you know about baby signing????  Watch out for the next blog and I'll let you in on a few basics.

A bit about my classes.

Well, we started in Feb 2003 with just me teaching and 2 classes. One in Lymington and one in Hythe. At the time Oliver was 21months and having a job that fitted around being a Mummy was amazing.

Each class has 12 people, when full, so my first term with a maximum of 24 people seems so small compared to now.
We are now a teaching team. I teach four classes a week in Totton and Hythe. Kate teaches two Totton classes and Heidi teaches four classes in Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford.

Kate ???? Heidi ????

I will introduce you to them and tell you how we became a team in my next blog.

Classes run term time only and each term is ten weeks. We run classes for 6 to 12/14 month olds called 'Baby - stage 1'. Classes for 14 month to 2 year olds called 'Toddler - stage 2' and our newer addition classes for over 2 year olds called 'Toddlers 2+'.

Each class has a theme and revolves around your babies routine and things they love to see and do.
We use music, singing, pictures, props, toys and instruments to make the whole learning experience so much fun you dont even realise how much you are learning.

We've just finished our term now and bookings are coming in thick and fast now for our January and even our May terms. I will use this break between terms to get blogging and tell you all about Baby signing the Sing and Sign way - the Original Baby Signing programme.