making communication fun
Celebrating Confident Communicators
"Martine's Talk to the Hands sessions are a real asset to early years development. Her commitment to supporting communication is clear, with sessions thoughtfully planned, highly engaging and interactive, ensuring that children remain involved and enthusiastic throughout. She brings a warm, approachable style, immediately putting staff and children at ease, creating a positive and inclusive learning environment."
-Sophie, Owner Little Ducklings Nursery
What is talk to the hands?
Talk to the Hands puts communication at the heart of learning, making language learning and sharing fun, engaging and inclusive.
Children are starting school without the essential communication, language and literacy skills to thrive; our early years programme reaches them at their most pivotal time of learning.
Talk to the Hands partners practitioners to prioritise core communication and language skills which need a helping hand. Our programme uses sign-supported English (BSL signs) to diversify communications and make participation fun and engaging.
The purpose of the programme is to enable little voices, to build confidence and ensure no individual feels left out. Activities are interactive, accessible and fun.
early years
enrichment provision
Our regular sessions nurture SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT through:
* Work TOGETHER as a GROUP in games, activities, puzzles and role-play.
* Learn the skills needed for positive TURN-TAKING.
* ACTIVE LISTENING to build on the contribution of others.
* RESPECT peers; respect opinions and ideas of everyone.
* Build CONFIDENCE through PARTICIPATION and self-esteem.
* Explore LANGUAGE in all its forms.
* Learn UNDERSTANDING through Sign Supported English (SSE) using British SIGN Language (BSL).
* Creatively REFLECT through arts and CRAFTS.
All sessions are delivered using spoken, pictorial and gestural modes of communication to facilitate full understanding and participation.
PRACTITIONER TRAINING
Staff training workshops are an essential part of continual professional development.
At Talk to the Hands we offer manageable training sessions to inspire practitioners in their application of communicative diversity:
What is communication?
Sign language - what's the difference?
Inclusion
Implementation in every day routines
The 90 minute training session is delivered in an interesting and engaging way to ensure real-life application. Talk to the Hands seeks to partner and support practitioners in their integral contribution to communication and language learning in early years.
collaborative assemblies
Communicative sensitivity is an everyday part of life. We encourage children to interactively explore and present their understanding of COMMUNICATION with a focus on core skills needed to REALLY include everyone in a CONVERSATION and the impact of being left on the OUTSIDE.
There is SO much more to communication than a SPOKEN word and these workshops allow children to actively ENGAGE in BETTER communications through the use of SIGN Supported English (SSE) using BSL (British Sign Language) signs. Learning a new LANGUAGE is fun and of life-long value.
Our workshops encourage DIVERSITY, breed TOLERANCE and RESPECT, inspire communicative diversity through SIGN and promote POSITIVE communications.
Effective Communication
* Breeds self- confidence and self-esteem.
* Promotes mental well-being.
* Supports positive social interactions and helps children to build positive relationships with peers and adults.
* Facilitates understanding.
* Reduces frustration and bad-feeling.
* Upholds BRITISH VALUES: democracy, respect, tolerance and individual liberty.
No one should be left on the 'outside.'
Children need communication, language and literacy skills to fully participate and thrive in their day-to-day life, engage positively with others and feel good about their place in society.
About Me
My name is Martine and I am the creator of Talk to the Hands. My inspiration comes from a genuine love of all languages (spoken and sign), together with the drive to raise the profile of 'listening' within early years education. Young children have so much to tell us about; to enable them with positive communication is to empower their voices, whatever form that may take.
I have owned the Sing and Sign franchise locally for 15 years and have worked to support many young families with the best possible early communications through extended gesture and music. I am lvl 3 certified in British Sign Language and have recently completed my Masters in Childhood and Youth Studies during which I was able to carry out my own research into listening perception in Primary education. I am also an Open University PDP coach, author and trainer. I love learning, however I am equally excited by the prospect of sharing my ideas and experiences, injecting creativity and energy into sessions, no matter the age of the learner.
Talk to the Hands is designed to empower children and practitioners. Communication is the foundation of language, relationships and lives; it deserves to be on a pedestal, with early opportunities presented to make it as positive an experience as possible.
