Just inside the front door of the studio, behind a hand-painted, decorative picket fence, a half dozen toddlers, with their parents and a set of grandparents, are fully involved, using hands and voice, while Miss Moira sings, “Every letter makes a sound, and ‘u’ says ‘uh.’”

Then the energetic teacher brings a box of swimming pool toys called “noodles” into the center of the circle, where the kids each grab one and become playful unicorns. As they prance they join Miss Moira, singing, “The loveliest of all was the unicorn.”

Sing, Sign & Play offers classes that providing early integration of music in a child’s daily routine. Babies can enter classes such as “Sing, Create & Play for the Day” and “Signing Smart Playclasses,” where teachers Miss Moira or Ms. Katie lead parents and children in songs, choreography and American Sign Language movements.

As quickly as the group puts away their “unicorn horns,” Miss Moira brings out the wood pieces for their imaginary violins, as she places the letter “v” on the easel, makes the sound with her lips and performs the ASL sign for it.

“We hit as many senses as we can,” explains teacher and founder, Moira Lamb. “Sign is the only language that’s auditory, kinesthetic and visual.”

In the “ABC Sign With Me” class, Lamb brings students through the full alphabet over the course of the eight-week session, animating each letter with its own song, repetitive sound and American Sign Language movement.



“I honestly think it made him speak earlier,” says Rena Chen of Saugus, about her 2 1/2 -year-old, Elijah, who has been in the classes since he was eight or nine months old. “Before he could talk he definitely used signs instead of crying. It helped a lot.”

Lamb and her fellow teacher, Katie Hubbard, both have bachelor’s degrees in music. Lamb founded “Musical Stepping Stones” in 2001 and opened the studio, “Sing, Sign & Play,” in 2005. They also hold classes in Canyon Country at West Coast Music Academy on Valley Center Drive.

“While still getting my music performance degree, I had to pick up some more units unrelated to music, so I decided to take sign language because I had friends who were deaf and already knew quite a few signs,” says Lamb. “During the class they mentioned some research done by Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn in regards to teaching hearing babies to sign as an early form of communication. When I had my daughter a year later, I decided to give it a try.”



Mykhail Tezai, 2, of Saugus is just finishing the session of ABC Sign With Me. “We started last summer and we’re hooked,” says Mykhail’s mother, Christine. “All of a sudden, he’s really started to pick up on it.”

Lamb knows personally how young children can sign. “My own son signed ‘dog’ just before he turned four months, and by the time he was one he had over 100 signs and was speaking in sentences in both sign and spoken language,” Lamb says. “When we went in for his 18 months check-up, the pediatrician asked, ‘So, is he saying things like Mommy, Daddy?’ and my son repeated back to him, ‘So, is he saying things like Mommy, Daddy?’ The doctor just smiled and said, ‘Just forget I asked that question.’”

Lamb’s classes are about more than just singing or signing. “Communication is at the heart of everything I do,” she explains. “Whether that communication is spoken or signed, my goal is to give parents the tools to communicate and bond with their child at a deeper level as soon as possible.”

To contact Sing, Sign & Play, visit www.singsignplay.com.