Author: Karen Humfress

Supermarket Surprises

Posted on by Karen Humfress

I took my son to shop
I had some things to collect
Bread rolls, some cheese and a new mop
And get home before he started to object

The girl at the check was slow
We queued for ever and ever
Eddie got grumpy and wanted to go
But then his eyes began to glimmer

He started to shout and point to his right
He really got quite excited
So I knelt beside him and looked from his height
To see what made him so delighted

Just past the check-out girls’ hair
The escalator rose in the air
People were rising on magical stairs
So we both spent a minute looking there

Eddie looked at me and smiled
I said ‘wow an escalator over there’
The world is exciting if you’re a child
Take time to stop and share

Sign along to Christmas songs

Posted on by Karen Humfress

It’s nearly Christmas – a great time to get everyone involved with some singing – and signing. _MG_0064

Young children really love the chance to add some actions, and Makaton signing gives everyone a way to join in.

I keep hearing about schools and nurseries where the children are having fun using Makaton in their Christmas songs and plays. It’s really easy as well – just show the shape of a long beard and mime putting a sack over your shoulder – congratulations, you’ve just signed ‘Father Christmas’!

I’ve been looking on the Makaton website and they have a fun Christmas Count-down every year. Every day there is a new Christmas treat – today’s was a group of young people singing and signing the words to ‘White Christmas’!  There are also free Christmas downloads with all the vocabulary you need.

makatonlogo

Change that Gets Hackney Talking

Posted on by Karen Humfress

_MG_0516On my way to work the other day I passed two men wearing skirts. Hackney is changing. It’s hard to ignore the coffee shops, vintage clothes stalls and pop-up hairdressers. Hackney is changing yet behind the rows of sourdough bakeries and boutique shoe shops, ordinary people are still stumbling through their daily lives.

Hackney is one of the most deprived boroughs in London and deprivation is not only about having enough food to eat or clothes to wear. Adequate speech, language and communication skills are a key indicator for success at school, in the workplace and in life. Children from deprived homes are still growing up with around a quarter of the vocabulary of a child from a more affluent home. Young offenders are three times more likely to have a communication difficulty than other young people.

The world we live in is changing and the ability to communicate is vital. Whether your aim in life is to run a retro clothes stall on Broadway Market or an IT business in Shoreditch, communication is key.

We’re hoping that our new website, GetHackneyTalking.org will go some way to improving the communication of Hackney’s children and young people. We want to see change in Hackney but change that reaches the Kingsmead Estate and Homerton Grove Adventure Playground, change that reaches from Homerton Maternity Ward to Hackney College. Change that Gets Hackney Talking.