The ground-breaking initiative in early years learning Dwylo Bach (Little Hands) developed by Cylch Meithrin Aberhonddu has secured funding from The Big Lottery Awards for All.
It has been awarded £4,000 to develop to establish a group for parents, carers and their children (0 to 2 years old) that will promote and encourage the use of sign language to babies through the medium of Welsh using Makaton sign language resources.
The group will meet every Wednesday morning from 9.15 to 10.45 in the main hall at Ysgol Y Bannau in Brecon and will be run by our enthusiastic early years team. There will be a free taster session for all those who are interested on Wednesday, November 4 at 9.30am which will provide an opportunity to speak to Claire, play leader, and learn about the benefits of teaching your child these techniques.
English-speaking parents and carers are very welcome and will be amazed at how easy it will be to pick up basic Welsh words as all teaching is bilingual.
Formal sessions will start on Wednesday, November 11 and will run alongside the academic term times. Sessions will cost £3.50 per child per session with discounts for additional siblings and booking for a term in advance.
Speaking in receipt of the award, chair of the group, Louise Grove-White said: “Cylch Meithrin Aberhonddu are delighted that The Big Lottery Fund Awards for All have funded our new initiative Dwylo Bach.
“Signing in Welsh will provide a way of introducing the language to children, enabling them to begin to express their feelings, wishes and needs and to make sense of their world. As a Welsh medium nursery we are focused on providing every child with the opportunity for early success in their proficiency in Welsh and Dwylo Bach will a complimentary addition to the range of educational services we offer to two and three-year-olds.”
Baby signing is well regarded by speech and language therapists as promoting positive verbal and non verbal communication between parents and their children in a loving and sensitive way. Signing alongside spoken language provides a richer language base for brain activity, growth and development. Baby signing is introduced during weekly sessions through song, rhyme and books and then reinforced during periods of free play.
Parents are encouraged to then utilise the skills and signs learned during their child’s daily routines to further support their language development.
Fore more information, contact Claire Morgan, www.facebook.com/dwylobach or 07976 472842