Question 1

Why should I become a baby sign language instructor?

Accepted Answer

Above all, you will receive a sense of success and accomplishment for helping other parents and caregivers learn how to sign with their babies!

Do you want to be a baby sign language teacher? Are you interested in running your own business and setting your own schedule? Have a family that you want to spend more time with but still want to work a little? Do you have American Sign Language (ASL) experience or the desire to learn? If you answered yes to these questions, we can help you get started straightaway!

Becoming a My Smart Hands® instructor is even better than ever! The PTPA awarded My Smart Hands® baby sign language program the Parent Tested Parent Approved award of excellence. Additionally, we can use the PTPA seal on all our marketing materials, showing potential clients that our program has undergone the PTPA evaluation and awarded us their seal of excellence! Learn more about us here.

Instructor Support

As a My Smart Hands® instructor, you will receive amazing support. Laura Berg is always available to instructors to give help and guidance, especially during the start-up phase. We also have a Regional coordinator allocated to you for ongoing support. Finally, you will have the support of other MSH instructors. We have a MSH Facebook group that is only open to MSH instructors. In this group, you will find a place to e-meet all the other instructors, read great suggestions on topics such as marketing, workshops, running exciting classes, and get supportive feedback. Additionally, there is a file section where you will find resources at your disposal. We have brochures, flyers, business cards, certificates and game ideas available to you as well. Our instructors are incredibly supportive of one another. We have people from all walks of life, which is why MSH is a great company to be affiliated with!

Full color manuals

At My Smart Hands®, we have easy-to-follow, full-color manuals for the parents who take your classes with pictures and descriptions of all the signs we teach. We also have training videos that walk you through each lesson. You will see clips from actual classes and how to sign all our songs and incorporate the games we play in class. You will also see full classes from start to finish to help you understand the structure and flow of a class! The videos have easy-to-view chapters for a quick review of specific parts.

What are you waiting for? To apply to become a My Smart Hands® baby sign language teacher, please contact Gina at: RCdirector@mysmarthands.com

Question 2

How do I apply?

Accepted Answer

All My Smart Hands® instructors must have at least a basic knowledge of American Sign Language.If you do not have any ASL experience, we would require you to either take a class in person in your city or online at www.signingonline.com

It is important as a My Smart Hands® instructor that you have an understanding and respect for ASL. Even though we have an easy-to-follow training program that will teach you everything, you need to know to run a My Smart Hands® class. We feel that you need to have a basic level of knowledge of the language you will be teaching.

Steps to become a baby sign language instructor:

Firstly, please send your resume or a detailed email about yourself and your desire to join our outstanding team of instructors to Gina. She can be reached at (647) 937-5463‬ or RCdirector@mysmarthands.com. When applying please put ‘Application for MSH Instructor’ in the subject line of your email to Gina.

Secondly, once Gina reviews your application, she will send you our licensing agreement for your review and will schedule a time to call you for a phone interview. This interview is an opportunity for Gina to get to know you better and a good time for you to ask her any questions you may have about our program.

Question 3

What do I receive as a My Smart Hands instructor?

Accepted Answer

As a My Smart Hands® instructor you will receive the following:
-> Ongoing support from Laura, your Regional Coordinator and all the other MSH instructors!
-> Your own webpage on our MSH website
-> Your own MSH email address – yourname@mysmarthands.com
-> Access to marketing materials and games. You can simply print these off to suit your needs.
-> A full-colour class manual with the signs and songs we teach in class
->MSH original music that we teach in our classes. Check out these links to view a few of the songs we teach in our classes: Please Change Me! and I Love To Ride
-> MSH promotional videos to use to promote your classes.
-> MSH training videos over 5 hours in length. These videos will give you step-by-step instructions on how to run an amazing MSH baby signing class. You will also gain access to our MSH instructor group where you can access valuable instructor information.
-> Finally, you'll receive discount purchasing on MSH flash cards to resell in your classes.
Most importantly, you will receive a sense of success and accomplishment!

Question 4

What are the fees to join My Smart Hands?

Accepted Answer

Because we pride ourselves on focusing on education rather than our ‘business,’ we want to keep the cost of becoming a My Smart Hands® instructor affordable. We know that it isn’t easy starting up your own business and appreciate that many of us don’t have a lot of money to put out when undertaking such an endeavour. The cost of becoming a licensed MSH instructor is $175.
The only other fee is for the class materials you would provide your students. You are required to purchase a MSH manual and music album for each family in your classes. Our manuals consist of weekly themes, full-color pictures of children producing the signs, and descriptions of how to make the sign. The manuals have songs we teach each week and homework suggestions for the parents in your classes. The manual is a valuable tool for parents to review signs even after the course ends.
Fun and engaging music
Each manual also comes with MSH downloadable songs we teach in class. It includes original MSH songs that parents and babies enjoy! The combined cost of the manuals and downloadable albums is $20 plus shipping and taxes where applicable (The album alone, when purchased separately through our site, ranges from $15-19). You can include the cost of the manuals in your class registration fee. We do not take a percentage of your class fee.
We feel very fortunate that our instructors can run successful businesses, which is why we can keep our membership costs so low!
To maintain your membership with My Smart Hands®, you must sign a new license each year. The renewal expectation is that you have purchased 20 or more manuals throughout the year. If you have not purchased more than 20 manuals, you will be required to buy that amount to renew. There are no additional fees on top of that.

Question 5

What can I earn as a MSH instructor?

Accepted Answer

The answer is the sky is the limit! Here’s how it works: you determine the price you are going to charge for your classes. We do not tell you how much you have to charge because some areas (like Los Angeles, for example) can charge more, whereas others can’t charge as much.

Generally, we suggest that you Google other Mom and Baby-type classes in your area (Mom and Baby music, yoga, dance, etc.) to see what they are charging. In your research, make sure it is a specialty class you are looking at when comparing prices. This will basically give you an idea of what you could charge in your area.

You keep all of the registration money – we do not take a percentage of your business. The only expense to you is the cost of the manuals and music ($20 + shipping) and any rental fees you may have!

Question 6

What programs do MSH offer?

Accepted Answer

We offer a number of great programs and the good news is you have access to all of these programs with your initial $175 registration fee. As far as we’re concerned, if you are successful, we are successful!
We have 2 levels of curriculum: MSH Level 1 and MSH Level 2. These 2 levels can be modified to teach a number of different programs. For example:
-> baby sign language classes
-> daycare classes
-> daycare worker workshops
-> teacher workshops
-> parent workshops
-> home school group classes
-> special need courses
-> online courses

Not surprisingly, our curriculum is extremely user-friendly that it is easily modified to suit your interests as a teacher. Additionally, you will find great ideas in our MSH forum to make each one of these classes a huge success, and fun too!

My Smart Hands offers mentorship and support every step of the way!

Join our team!

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