to start a baby sing and sign class without any formal training or qualifications?

[CourseyoucanMalcolm]

I did various singing and signing classes with both my two so am quite familiar with how it works, and know lots and lots of signs.

Now I am stuck thousands of miles from UK with no way of doing a training course, and nothing to do with my mornings.

I was thinking of setting up a little sing and baby signing group. I would plan my classes and make sure I knew all the signs connected to the topic in advance. And I would get hold of a big book to look up anything I didn't know.

I wouldn't be offering Makaton or BSL or ASL classes, just a little singsong and a few signs so your baby could communicate.

Do you think that would be okay?

I don't see why not, go for it!

I don't see why not either. It sounds like a nice idea! A lady near my puts on music classes, and as far as I know just has an interest in music. Maybe you could charge slightly less than a normal sing and sign class, and make it clear in your biography that you just love doing it?

Not at all. Go for it!

No, it would come along!

I meant "I" would come along, DS1 was talking to me. Damn these pesky kids ruining my concentration.

Are you going to take out insurance?

Sound like a good idea as long as you don't pretend to be what you're not. I would come along on that basis to a well run class.

It might be harder or more expensive to get insurance if you aren't qualified, but if you want to do it, you should. As long as the people you advertise to aren't under the impression that you are qualified, I don't see a problem.

Agree you should make it clear you're not pretending to be qualified, so no-one complains you set this up under false pretences. Otherwise, go for it!

I think you should go for it! I go to sing and sign with my DS and love it so much I have thought about teaching it!! good luck!

how can you be sure you're teaching correctly tho? Surely this area is quite specialised?

Learning any signing from a book is VERY different from seeing the sign in RL. I wouldn't be happy paying for a class where the person teaching signing isn't correctly trained or at least has tons of experience signing. I'm sure there are lots of people who would but I'm not convinced it's such a good thing to potentially teach signs which are incorrect.

I would just start a baby singing class...nursery rhymes and songs with actions...get some tambourines..shakers etc....and coffee and biscuits aferwards!

That would go down well. Maybe there's an onlne course you can do?

I think yanbu as long as you don't imply you are doing all the official signs or that you are a professional.

I'm thinking of setting up a club in the future for preschool learning, and maybe maths/science for older DCs... Don't have a degree and I'm not a qualified teacher (yet!) but I wouldn't make claims to make the DCs a genius or anything - I'd just be relying on word of mouth etc...

Great to see most people think it's a good idea, and IANBU :)

Regarding teaching signs "wrong" - if the baby understands a sign to mean something, and the people who interact with the baby understand the same sign to mean the same thing I am not sure I see the problem.

I don't think there is an 'Official Baby Signing Language' to teach, like there is official Makaton, BSL, ASL etc. Most of baby signing draws from these three, but it's not official.

And yes, learning from a book is not the same as seeing it, you are right. Good point. Perhaps I could use youtube or online resources? I do know the vast majority of the common baby signs anyway, having done signing with my two.

SGM - would you be angry because you would feel you'd been done? Or because learning a specific sign language is crucial to you?

yabu and not lol
I think I would prefer to learn form someone who has been trained, i did a sign a long course, but no way could I say I was qualified to teach. it would be nice imo if people who did baby signing carried on once their dc's can talk, would make the world more inclusive for dc's with sn.

If you market it as a baby music group where you sign along with the songs rather than a "baby signing" class, I don't see the problem.

I think so, yes. You have no training in British Sign Language or Makaton, and you're hoping to earn money by mimicking a language that you don't know; you're taking money away from Deaf teachers. Other arguments against this here, some moral and some related to the claims of enhanced cognitive development.

Why not attend some BSL classes first, so that you can get involved in the Deaf community and properly learn the language? Signature has some good links. This article by professors of linguistics has some other arguments against the fashion for baby signing.

Why would she need insurance?

What makes you think the baby sign classes in the UK are run by people who have sign language qualifcations? As far as I can see, they don't, which is part of the reason I just got a book myself. if you are outgoing, love kids and upbeat then go for it!

She is not setting up a company though, she is running a little class. Children are there with their parents. If she hires a hall the facilities will have liability insurance to be let out as a public building. She isn't providing equipment. What is the extra liability in leading them in singing some songs and moving their hands?