Mum organises motivational singalong for daughter's class at Langtoft Primary School during coronavirus lockdown
A mum-of-two organised a motivational online singalong for her daughter’s class - in sign language.
Venetia Troop, 40, runs a business teaching babies and toddlers to sign and thought it would be a fun way to keep pupils at Langtoft Primary School connected.
She chose Vera Lynn’s Second World War classic ‘We’ll Meet Again’ - a phrase echoed by the Queen at the end of her address to the nation on Sunday.
The youngsters practised every day for two weeks on video conferencing website Zoom with the video finally being uploaded to YouTube on Monday (April 6).
Within a day it had been viewed more than 1,100 times with parents and pupils said to be over the moon.
Venetia, who runs Happy Little Hands, said: “It’s been great fun! All the parents have been really grateful because the children have been really looking forward to it.”
She added: “If it does make any money we will donate it to the NHS. But the main thing is it’s for the children and a way for them to share what they are doing with the world. Parents have said it’s the highlight of their day!”
She said her daughter Amélie, 11, was in Year 6 and had been upset that she couldn’t see her classmates since schools were closed, especially in such an important year as they prepare to move up to senior school.
“It was really sad that they’ve now all been separated from each other,” said Venetia, who previously taught at a special school for 16 years before being made redundant when she was pregnant..
“I thought it would be really nice to teach them all a song in sign language. I decided on We’ll Meet Again and then the Queen said it at the end of her speech! Great minds think alike!”
She continued: “I didn’t want it to be a sad song, I wanted something to give them a bit of motivation. My daughter just gets on with doing her school work but it makes them so isolated, even in their own home.
“It can be stressful for everyone so I wanted something that would be really positive. So everyone has been logging on to Zoom and I’ve been teaching them the song and the signs.”
Venetia, who lives in Spalding and also has a two-year-old daughter called Aviana, is looking to carry on with the Zoom sessions and has asked the pupils what they want to try next.
“It’s had a really good impact on the children and their families,” she said.
To view the video of the pupils singing and signing We’ll Meet Again, click here
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