Makaton is central to our approach of making our environment accessible for every child, fostering inclusivity by breaking down communication barriers and empowering children to initiate and engage in conversations.
Makaton paves the way for improved social interactions for children with peers and adults alike.
On this page we share signs from the Core Vocabulary of Makaton to support children to express themselves and build their language skills.
Makaton Sign: Good morning
To sign 'good morning', use your dominant hand to make a 'thumbs up' sign, then use the fingertips of your dominant hand to tap the non-dominant side of your chest, followed by the dominant side. We use this to greet children into nursery in the mornings.
Makaton Sign: Mummy
For this sign, simply tap the three middle fingers of one hand on the palm of the other hand twice, for each syllable of the word.
Makaton Sign: Yes
For this sign, imagine you’re wearing a sock puppet on your hand that you’re making nod!
Makaton Sign: Finished
This is useful for signifying the end of an activity, a story or a meal. Bring both hands together in fists, and then sweep them out to the sides with flat palms.
Makaton Sign: Daddy
For this sign, simply tap your index and middle fingers of one hand on top of the same fingers of the other hand, once for each syllable of the word.
Makaton Sign: No
For this sign, raise your dominant hand with your palm facing outwards and swipe it sideways from your non-dominant side to your dominant side. Make sure your facial expression matches what you’re trying to communicate, too!
Makaton Sign: More
Simply tap a flat palm on top of your fist and that's all there is to it. This is a very popular sign at nursery to request more of an activity, more of a song or, most importantly, more food!