Makaton: Times Like These, an acoustic sing-and-sign session
An inclusive Makaton signing cover scoring 95 for educational value and 95 for lifting a flat, tired mood.
Singing Hands deliver a gentle, warm acoustic cover fully signed in Makaton, with a presenter annoyance score of just 1 and a comfort rating of 95. The pipeline's avoid_for list is empty, and it's explicitly flagged as suited to SEN families and inclusive classrooms as well as any child learning Makaton or British Sign Language, with Companion and Mover both peaking at 90 plus for 4 to 5-year-olds who love copying along.
At a glance
Will it actually calm them down?
Scores 90 for talking a wound-up child back towards settled, through calm, inclusive signing.
Scores 95, one of the highest blue-zone lifts in the library, for a flat, tired mood.Scores measure how reliably this video moves a child toward a settled, regulated state. In the Piko app, kids tell us their weather and we do the matching automatically.
Which kids will love it?
Why it works
Shots average a long 12 seconds against a pacing score of 85, giving each sign time to land clearly rather than rushing between them. The tone is suggestion-based with a medium instructional level, so it teaches through gentle repetition rather than instruction, and it wraps up on a proper natural endpoint.
Blue-to-green scores a strong 95, one of the highest flat-mood lifts in this batch, and yellow-to-green sits at 90 too, though the overall energy effect reads as neutral rather than calming, so it steadies rather than sends a child off to sleep. Sensory intensity is logged as low with no audio or visual triggers, and educational value scores 95, reflecting genuine signing instruction rather than passive viewing.
Companion and Mover are the standout play styles, both peaking around 90 to 95 for 4 to 5-year-olds: this is a child who wants to sign and move alongside someone else, not just watch. Dreamer sits at 85 too, picking up on the gentle, heartfelt mood of the acoustic cover itself.
When to reach for it
- After-school wobble Yellow-to-green score of 90 and calm, repeated signing help settle a restless mood.
- Rainy afternoon rescue A genuine watch-then-do video: Makaton signs are made to be copied along with, not just watched.
- Learning Makaton or BSL together Educational value of 95 and an explicit SEN-family, inclusive-classroom focus make it a useful teaching tool.
Sensory & SEN notes
If they love this, try these
Questions parents ask
Is this only for children who already use Makaton?
No, the pipeline lists it as good for children learning Makaton or BSL as well as inclusive classrooms and SEN families generally, so it works as an introduction too. Companion and Mover both score 90 plus for 4 to 5-year-olds who enjoy copying the signs along with the choir.
Will it calm my child down or wind them up?
It leans steadying rather than sleepy: the energy effect is logged as neutral, though blue-to-green scores a strong 95 for lifting a flat, tired mood and yellow-to-green sits at 90 for a restless one.
Is there anything sensory to be aware of?
Very little: overall sensory intensity is logged as low with no audio or visual triggers at all, and shots average a slow 12 seconds, giving each sign plenty of room to land clearly.
What age does this suit best?
Companion and Mover both peak around 90 to 95 for 4 to 5-year-olds, though Explorer and Independent still score well into the 80s by age 10-11, so older children learning to sign aren't left out either.
40+ checks per video, with a final pass from the review desk · Scored 11 July 2026 · We do not host videos; playback is via YouTube's official embed.