Vicki Gilbert
Tiny Signers® has been set-up and is run by Vicki Gilbert. Originally it started as Babies Can Sign®, 8 years ago. As our remit expanded, and it grew in popularity, beyond just babies to toddlers, pre-schoolers and school children, our name also moved on to become more encompassing and reflective of what we offer.
I have been teaching for nearly twenty years, originally as a Physical Education teacher but I quickly moved to specialising in working with disabled people, including those with hearing impairments and gained my BSL (British Sign Language) Level 1 qualification. I have now gained Level 2 and am currently working towards Level 3. I have taught extensively in Further and Higher Education, also on a freelance basis.
I had heard about the SIGN with your BABY™ programme and taught myself using The Complete Learning Kit, in preparation to use with my first child, Hope (you can see her using the sign for bird at the top left of this page when she was 18 months old).
My husband and I found it amazing to be able to communicate with her long before she could speak, she was proficiently using about 100 signs by the age of one and could clearly tell us what she did and didn’t want!
I have also signed with my second child, Jack, who is 8 years old, despite obviously now being a fluent speaker with an extensive vocabulary he still keenly signs and never ceases to amaze me. I excitedly signing with my 3rd child Joe who is now three.
I’m always so excited to share this amazing tool with other parents and carers. It is truly wonderful and really does open a window into your child’s mind.
I love to hear all the signing stories people tell me in class, by email and text! It’s such a priviledge to share in those special moments that parents and carers have with the children. Also it’s such a joy when a baby signs for the first time in class (frequently this is the sign for ‘bubbles’ as they get so excited!). I wear two hearing aids due to high frequency hearing loss.
Berni Bazely
Hi, I’m Berni. Married to a slightly younger man (the long-suffering Garry) and Mum to the gorgeous and sensitive Alice age 7 and the more boisterous Noah age 2!
I’m was new to signing when I had Alice. When I was pregnant, my husband shouted to me one day to come and look at something on the internet – obviously I was intrigued! He had found the Babies Can Sign homepage while surfing the net (still not even sure what he’d been looking for to be honest!) and he said ‘I’d like to do this with our baby – what do you think?’. I like to think of myself as someone who will have a go at anything – so of course I said yes. Little did I know that finding that website would end up changing my life – in SO many ways!
I started classes with Alice when she was 7 months old and thought it was the best money I’d ever spent. Not only were the classes a HUGE amount of fun but also I loved the fact that both Alice and I were learning something together – it was nice to give my Mum Brain a work out!
I can’t tell you how immensely proud I felt when Alice signed for the first time – she was 10 1/2 months (in that ‘magic window’ of 10-13 months, just like Vicki had said!). I always thought that her first sign would be milk – but it turned out to be music!
Communication with Alice had now begun – and once it began it just spurred me on. I ended up doing the course (Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced) twice through, and enjoyed every minute of it!
Before I had Alice, I worked in the design and marketing industry. Whilst on Maternity Leave I was made redundant. My previous career hasn’t been a complete waste of time either – my ‘talents as a designer’ sometimes come in handy when we need new flyers, posters, etc!
I have now gained BSL Level 1 and have joined the lovely team at Tiny Signers® and feel very fortunate to be doing something I am passionate about – I now have a ‘Signing Tot’ so I KNOW it works and is an invaluable skill for both parent and child. I have recently had my second child, Noah, and am looking forward to signing with him!
Ami Atkinson
My name is Ami and I have 3 boys, I live with them in Yeadon and my partner John. I attended Rachel’s classes before Covid with my middle son, Bertie. I wanted to follow suit with my youngest Tom but with the changes after the pandemic I was unable to find any Tiny Signers classes where timings were suitable. She tried other providers and was always drawn back to Tiny Signers.
I am really excited to join the Tiny Signers Teaching Team and I am proud to be able to introduce myself to families as someone, who facilitates young people and their care givers to be able to communicate in such an intuitive way.
I LOVE the relaxed nature of Tiny Signers classes, giving children the time to breath and learning was effortless even with my very busy little boy!
I have loved training with and shadowing Vicki last term and I am really enjoying increasing my knowledge and studying towards my BSL Level 1 qualification.