Australian Baby Hands Blog

Just a very quick post to let you know that you only have a few days before our Christmas special offer finishes.

If you enter “christmas09” into the discount coupon section of the shopping cart then you will receive 10% off your order of any Australian Baby Hands product.

(see here for instructions if you have any trouble)

This includes our great big cuddly Sammy the Signing Bear who we have just got back in stock just in time for Christmas.

He makes a great present for your little one and will provide lots of fun on Christmas day as they unwrap their new toy and then you can make Sammy magically come to life by placing your hands into the special sleeves of his jumper.

Hurry up and get your orders in quickly as we only have a few days left to be able to get your order out in the post to try and ensure that you receive it in time for Christmas.

Happy Signing

Jackie

With less than a week to go, it will soon be December and the count down to your baby’s first/second/third… Christmas is fast approaching.

I love sharing the joy of Christmas with others.  I’m always one of the first to put up my Christmas tree each year and I start the Christmas carols from early December to help get us in the Christmas mood.

So for this reason, I thought I would share my love of Christmas with you all through our NEW Christmas themed baby sign language class.  This one off class where you combine the FUN of Christmas and the benefits of play with baby sign language is available from all our teachers now.

In or new Baby Hands Christmas class you will:

• sign and sing your favourite Christmas carols
• learn signs for your favourite Christmas things
• get a sheet of Christmas signs for you to take home and practice
• meet other baby signers  in your local area
• share in the Christmas spirit

Also, with our special offer if you can get 5 or more of your friends together to attend a Baby Hands Christmas class, as the organiser you will get the Christmas class for FREE!

All you have to do is arrange a class with one of our teachers and bring 5 people from your mothers group, playgroup or other friends and you will get the class for free. Talk to one of our teachers to make the arrangements and they can even come to you if it is within a reasonable distance.

If you are a childcare centre, our teachers can come to you and spread the Christmas joy to your staff and children.  The class will introduce staff to a range of Christmas carols which they can continue to share with the children in the run up to Christmas as well as lots of FUN Christmas activities.

Classes are booking up fast so contact your nearest teacher today.

Apologies to those who are to far outside the current areas that our teachers are in to travel to a class.  We will be starting classes in new areas in other States in the New Year.

If you are interested in becoming a Baby Hands Teacher then please contact us and let us know why you would like to become a Baby Hands Teacher and we will get back to you shortly.

This was a few weeks ago now but I have only just received a copy of the story that I could post here in the blog.

The Daily Telegraph called about doing a feature on Baby Sign Language and came round to ask me a few questions and take some pictures. If you didn’t see the article you can read it by clicking on the image.

Happy Signing

Jackie

It’s that time again for another Pregnancy, Babies and Childrens Expo and this one will be in Melbourne on the 16th – 18th of October (at least my partner is happy this year its not on his birthday like last time).

We will be there over the whole weekend and would love to see you there if you are popping in.

You can get a free ticket for the show here and we will be on stand number D24 which is located in the middle right, near the Imaginative Play Corner.

Do make sure you print off your free ticket and bring it with you as it costs $16 on the door on the day to get in if you do not have one.

• VENUE    The Melbourne Exhibition Centre  Southbank
• DATES     Friday 16 – Sunday 18 October 2009
• TIMES     Friday 10am – 4pm (last admission 3pm)
  Saturday and Sunday 10am – 5pm (last admission 4pm)
• ADMISSION     Adults: $16   Pensioners: $12   Children under 14: FREE

There will be lots of products on display for the weekend, many of which you wont get to see anywhere else.

There is also free entertainment for the kids with daily shows from Bob the Builder as well as

• Hey Dee Ho Music
• Imaginative Play Corner
• Playgroup Activities
• Toddler Kindy Gymbaroo Circuits

Hope to see you there at the weekend and hear a few of your signing stories.

Jackie

Im really happy today to announce the launch of our latest classes in Sydneys Inner West.

Catherine, our latest Baby Hands teacher, has started her classes covering Sydney’s Inner West area with a fixed venue at the historic Woodstock Community Centre in Burwood.

As well as regular classes in Burwood Catherine is available for private lessons for Mothers Groups, Play Groups and Childcare Centres in the area.

Catherine has been signing with her own son since he was 3 months old using Australian Baby Hands, by 5 months he understood several signs and now at 13 months he has a wide range of signs that he uses everyday.  The benefit that signing brings to the communication level that Catherine now enjoys with her son inspired Catherine to want to teach others how amazing using baby sign can be.

We are lucky to have her on board and if you would like to join Catherine at one of her classes please contact her through the details here.

If you are interested in a class that is in another area please check our Baby Sign Classes locations page.

Happy Signing

Jackie

There’s a brand new baby show that’s just starting out and it launches in Sydney this weekend.

Even though this is the first show it promises to be a great one with lots of events and a wide range of exhibitors so you can really get your shopping fix.

I’ll be there all weekend and if your one of the first 50 people to get to this blog post then you can get a free ticket to attend.

Now, this really is a limited numbers offer as we are only allowed to give away 50 tickets so once the free ticket has been downloaded 50 times it will be removed from this page.

*Update – sorry but all the free tickets have been downloaded.  You can still download a discount voucher for $5 off the price of admission here: – Save $5 off the price of admission.

The show is on at the Royal Hall of Industries near Fox Studios.

There are lots of things going on at the show for parents as well as free childcare (subject to availability) so you can enjoy the show at your own pace for a while without having to worry about your little one.

Also available are some really nice services at the show such as shopping made easy and a free pram park which can really help as these shows often get quite congested and navigating around pushing a buggy can be a little difficult, (recommended that you bring a sling for your baby if you take advantage of this service)

Full list of attractions and features can be found here.

I hope to see you over the weekend at our stand which is number H1 and located near the front right corner of the hall as you come in.

Come over and say hello and if you have any questions on baby sign language or our baby sign language classes I’d love to see you.

Enjoy the show

Last week we were featured on New Idea TV with a short segment on our baby sign classes.

Thanks so much to the parents who took part and of course your wonderful children.

Lena our Northern Beaches teacher did a great job and looks like a complete natural on the telly, a far cry from me and the nerves I felt when I did my first interview on Kerry-Anne several years ago.

As Lena points out the benefits from using baby sign are to help reduce frustration and tantrums for your little one while they are pre-verbal.  Lena also addresses the common misconception that using sign language with children will delay the speech process, when in fact the opposite has been found to be true, with signing children generally talking earlier and having a wider vocabulary range.

If you missed the segment of the show then you can view it below and hear what other parents have had to say about using baby hands and see children using sign in action during the class.

We would love to hear your feedback either on the program or from your experience of using baby sign so please feel free to leave a comment below.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

If you would like to contact Lena or any of or other teachers about classes in your area please contact them via the contact us forms on their page.

If you would just like to get started in your own home then we have a range of baby sign products in our online shopping cart that are all easy to follow and can be implemented into your daily routines very easily.

Happy Signing

Jackie

While Australian Baby Hands products were developed to help aid the communication of pre-verbal “normal” hearing children I feel strongly that we should ensure that we support the Deaf community and use Auslan as best we can.

This week is Hearing Awareness Week.  One in six people in Australia suffer from some form of hearing loss and for many using sign language is their main form of communication.

If you are worried that your child may suffer from any form of hearing loss here are some things that you may want to check:

Normal Progress for children;

• 0 – 4 months – is startled by loud noises and soothed by mother’s voice
• 4 – 6 months – turns eyes towards sounds and responds to mother’s voice
• 5 – 6 months – begins to “babble”
• 6 – 9 months – turns head towards sounds and responds to own name
• 9 – 12 months – copies simple words like “no” and “bye bye”
• 12 – 18 months – says some words and follows simple instructions
• Over 18 months – should be increasing vocabulary quickly

A child with a hearing loss may:

• not hear sounds
• not respond to own name
• begin to “babble”, then stop for no explicable reason and fail to use single words
• use very few words for their age
• misunderstand instructions, seem inattentive and/or restless
• appear to be naughty
• wait to see what others do first after instructions are given

Details and information care of DF child brochure

If you are concerened that your child sufferes from any form of hearing loss please consult with your doctor or local health care worker.

If you would like information on fun and interactive baby sign classes please contact one of our baby hands teachers.

# Update, you can now watch this episode direct on our blog here.

Several weeks ago I got a call from New Idea TV who wanted to do a feature on Australian Baby Hands and our baby sign language classes.

It’s very exciting, as we shot this a few weeks ago, and it will be going to air this Thursday (20th August) at 3pm on Channel 7.

In this segment you will get to see Lena, our Northern Beaches teacher in action. With mums, dads & babies in attendance, Lena introduces baby sign language through songs, activities, stories and Sammy the signing bear.

You’ll see how much children love the workshop and how they start to use signs during the class.

If you’re curious to know what a baby sign workshop is all about, tune in on Thursday and you’ll get to see how fun and educational a baby sign class can be for you and your baby.

If you would like to attend a class then please visit our teachers page and contact them directly for class details in your area.

Please note if you do live outside the current teacher areas but have a mothers group or other group of friends that you would like to get together to organise a class, please contact your nearest teacher and they may be able to come to you.

If you have any questions that you would like to ask me in person I’m appearing at several bookshops over the next few weeks so come along and say hello if you are in the area.

Happy Signing

Jackie

I am holding some baby sign language events  over the coming weeks in Borders stores in NSW. They are starting this week and if you live nearby and would like to come along, it would be great to see you there.

The events are being held at the following Borders stores:

Borders Hornsby

Date: Thursday August 13^th 2009

Address: Shop 2042-204
Westfield Shopping Centre
236 Pacific Highway
Hornsby, NSW 2077

Time: 11am

Borders Tuggerah

Date: Thursday August 20^th 2009

Address: Shop 2029
Westfield Tuggerah
Cnr Wyong & Gavenlock Roads
Tuggerah, NSW 2259

Time: 11am

Borders Macarthur Square

Date: Thursday September 10^th 2009
(please note this date has changed from the previous date of the 26th August)

Address: Shop L02 L087
Macarthur Square Shopping Centre
Gilchrist Drive
Campbelltown, NSW 2560

Time: 11am

I will be running through your most frequently asked baby sign language questions and demonstrating how to introduce baby sign language into your home.

I hope to see you there.

Happy Signing!

Jackie