Sun, Jun 14 2009
A young West Lothian mum has combined her fascination for sign language with bringing up her baby daughter and running a business.
Kerry Laurie, from Kirkton, Livingston Village, runs the Babysigners teaching network in West Lothian and east Edinburgh. "I've always been interested in sign language since my husband signed me up for a British Sign Language course," said Kerry, whose daughter, Gracie, celebrated her first birthday just recently. "I also wanted to be with Gracie, so I looked into franchising." After a period of training, Kerry is now running babysigning classes at Bathgate community centre, as well as Livingston and Edinburgh. "The classes are small and friendly," explained Kerry, "typically about eight parents and their babies and are more like a playgroup than a lesson, with songs, puppets and stories to keep it all fun." Kerry said the signs are just as easy for babies to learn as waving, clapping and pointing. "Using sign language is a wonderful way to communicate with your baby before they develop sufficient control over their voice to talk," she added. Now babies as young as six months old are learning to communicate before they can speak a single word. Kerry's newest class begins at St Mary's Church Hall, Bathgate, on Friday 26 June. Anyone interested in signing up for the class can contact her by e-mail on Kerry.laurie@babysigners.co.uk or by phone on 07552 185889. You can also visit the website www.babysigners.co.uk Kerry praised Business Gateway West Lothian for their assistance in helping her start her business. "They were a great help," she added, "and still keep in touch with me." Business Gateway can be contacted on 01506 777400.
|
