What is Tegn og Trall?
Tegn og Trall is a sing and sign course situated in Grünerløkka, Oslo. I teach babysigns, which are simple signs that you use when you talk to your baby.
Your baby will gradually learn to use these signs long before they are able to talk! Signing babies are less frustrated because they are able to express exactly what they want, what they see and how they feel.
It might sound impossible, but with the right tools you can actually have two-way conversations with your pre-verbal baby! Believe me, this is a truly amazing feeling! Both for you as a parent and your little one.
The good news is that your baby already has the tools, their hands. Through our 10 week course, Mia Mjau and I will guide you and teach you all we know, so that you also will experience the joys of baby sign language.
In Tegn og Trall we sing songs and sign, so it is also a fun music activity for parents and babies. Learning the signs is easy and enjoyable as we learn in a playful way.
This course is for children from about 4 months – 2 years and is an ideal activity during maternity and paternity leave. Early communication enriches your relationship with your child as well as it gives them a head start with their verbal skills.
A Tegn og Trall baby is a happier baby!
Barnet vårt smiler mye når han gjør tegn, og han smilte mye hver gang vi gjorde tegn før han selv begynte å bruke det. Både for han og oss er tegn forbundet med mye glede, begeistring og latter. – Jorid
The Signs
The signs we use are taken from Norwegian sign language and Tegn til tale. This again is a communication method that uses body language, mimicking, logical signs, plus signs borrowed from official Norwegian sign language in combination with speech.
Some of the signs have been simplified to fit a baby/ toddler’s limited motor coordination. The signs are easy to learn and easy to remember.
We are a tri-lingual family and we found that using sign language created a link between the three spoken languages and actually accelerated understanding of the three languages – signing became the hook from which to hang the three languages from. – Kyrre
The Music
Using music and song is a wonderful way to engage and teach small babies and parents to use baby sign language. It is a well-documented fact that music has a very positive effect on the concentration levels of children, of all ages. Music can increase memory skills and has been shown to encourage more rapid growth in general cognitive development.
We have written our own Tegn og Trall texts to known melodies. We sing about typical daily life with a baby: nappy changing, bath time, milk, bedtime, as well as things that interest the little ones, animals, the playground, things that go brrrrmm and of course Mia Mjau, our lovable, cuddly cat.
Apart from our Tegn og Trall songs, we also sing some common Norwegian children’s songs.
Lily syntes skifte bleie sangen var morsom, det er nok en favoritt og det gjør bleieskift til en lek når vi synge denne sammen. Et stort smil kommer når jeg sier at vi skal skifte bleie og begynner å synge – Inger Sofie
How does it work?
We sing silly songs and sign, it’s as simple as that. The children get to shake maracas, explore the toys and enjoy the sounds and music. The parents learn the signs through the songs, which they then practice at home with their babies.
I’ll give tips and advice on how to get started and how to be successful with the signs. I’ll also share my own experience with baby sign language. My three little monsters were chatterboxes with their hands and I have many funny and magical stories to tell! I hope they will inspire you!
The songs are repeated each lesson so the words and the signs will gradually stick, but we also learn something new each time. We have a weekly theme where we go through new useful signs, eg. the family signs, clothes signs, food signs, toy signs and so on.
Babies will also love meeting Mia Mjau, Tegn og Trall’s very own mascot who just loves music. She’s a little bit cheeky too and likes hiding. I wonder if we’ll find her?
In our Surprise Bag we have objects connected to our weekly theme. Babies enjoy opening the bag each lesson and picking something out.
Included in all my courses is membership to a closed fb group where films all the songs and signs are posted. Our closed Facebook group follows the course, so once a week I will post a film of the weekly theme signs, any new songs as well as films of my kids using signs for inspiration. I also write what we talked about, so if you miss a class, you still get to see and read what we learnt.
Another bonus is that the online classes, from the online course, will be recorded and sent to your email. This way you can watch the digital classes and repeat them as many times as you wish!
Whether you choose the living room course or the online course, learning to sign with your child will open up for music, play, and lots of smiles during precious shared moments.
signup
Use the form below to sign up
Tell me about you and your baby and I will reserve a spot for you on your chosen course.
Please include the following information. Then I can contact you straight away to confirm your place.
- your baby's name
- his or her date of birth
- your address and telephone number