Quotes

I can understand perfectly well what my child wants, thank you very much' is the typical refrain of baby sign sceptics. I have found, however, that my daughter's needs very quickly became a great deal more complicated than hungry, tired, uncomfortable. Giving her the tools to be able to communicate that she wants water instead of milk, or that she needs help finding her doll's hat, relieves frustration on both ends. The most rewarding part of having taught my baby sign, though, is that it gives her the opportunity to tell me about her day. Babies need to do this just as much as we do when we come home from a long day.

Ari did his first sign today: 'milk' . He did it once this morning as we woke up, again before his nap and again this evening SEVERAL times in a row before bed. My husband was there to witness the last time. He was very impressed and proud and now he really wants to learn more about the whole process. We're all very excited and curious to see how he catches onto more signs.

We love Bizzy Bee Signing classes because we enjoy singing and signing as well as making music and dancing with other kids and their mums. At the same time the signing classes are educational and fun time well spent on language and musical development.

When my son Joel was 8 months old I started teaching him 3 signs which I learned from a book; Joel only picked up one of them. When Joel was 13 months, I heard about Bizzy Bee Signing courses and thought it might be more fun to learn in a group. After only 2 weeks he had already learned several signs ('ball' was his favourite) and he kept learning more signs like a sponge soaking up water. He knew 80 to 90 signs by the time he was 1.5 years old and his spoken vocabulary soon developed to the same size. Signing not only helped us avoid frustration in vairous situations, it also enabled Joel to share his thoughts from a very early age. For example: he kept telling us how much he enjoyed a train ride we took together long after the fact. With signing you can have a two way conversation with your child long before he or she can speak. An experience no parent should miss.

Babies who sign learn very early in life that their thoughts and feelings matter and will be listened to. As a result of being effective in the world, they develop positive attitudes towards others - and towards themselves. They discover that learning is fun, that the world is a marvelously interesting place, and that it's enormously rewarding to share one's fascinating discoveries with those one loves. (Quote from the book BABY SIGNS by Linda Acredolo, Ph.D. and Susan Goodwyn, Ph.D.).

I'm the French speaking nanny of a little girl who has an English speaking mum and a German speaking dad. One might think that adding sign language on top of the three languages Edie is already exposed to would be too much, but on the contrary: sign language builds a wonderful bridge between all three spoken languages. In many instances Edie grasps the meaning of a French word before she knows the word because I can connect it to a sign which she already understands from using it with the English word. I have worked in a day care centre for many years and I believe that Bizzy Bee Signing classes are a fun as well as educational activity. I would love to see signing to be introduced into the day care environment because it would give caregivers and pre-verbal children a tool for two way communication. Giving babies and toddlers the means to communicate their wants and needs would avoid a lot of frustration for the child and the caregiver. 

My son Callum and I have been participating in Bizzy Bee Signing classes since he was about six months old. I love to communicate and believe that teaching my son good communication skills is very important. Teaching him to sign means that he will get a head start of several months. We also enjoy singing and adding signs to our favourite songs adds another fun dimension to the musical experience. Learning signs in a group rather than from a book makes it even more fun.

I am a full time mum and am always looking for activities which provide the opportunity for Thilo to be with other children and which help him develop his skills. Bizzy Bee Signing classes fit this objective perfectly. The fact that Thilo started producing his first sign 'more' only two weeks after starting (he was 13 months when we started) was an added bonus. I enjoy the fact that you can easily take home what you learn in class and make it a fun activity all through the day. Whether we are at home, at the supermarket or at the zoo, signing allows us to have two way convesations about anything that takes Thilo's interest. In the mornings he sometimes even tells us about his dreams. To see the smile on Thilo's face when he knows I understand what he is sharing with me is a wonderful experience.