Little Girl started watching the DVDs when she was around six months. At first she would just watch and smile at the antics of Leah, Alex, and Hopkins (the animated characters that help you learn). I would watch with her and sign during the day for meals (eat, cracker, cereal), bedtime (book, sleep, blanket, pjs), and other signs she was currently seeing on the DVD. She watched the first two over and over and I would rotate them to keep the signs fresh in her mind. Then one day close to her first birthday, I asked if she wanted to eat or play and she signed eat! At naptime I signed sleep and she nodded and signed sleep back to me. We were communicating!!
In the months since her birthday her signing has increased. We started watching the third DVD and she'll try to move her hands like the kids on the screen. It's so wonderful to know what she wants without her just screaming and pointing at something. The series is original songs about different things (family, transportation, bedtime, nature, eating) and Rachel, the adult, will do the sign and explain it then toddlers and babies do the sign. They also show the word on the screen and pictures of children with the object. The DVDs are around 20-25 minutes each and the songs are amazingly catchy. Tommy and I will find ourselves singing them and our daughter will just stare at us.
So you can see how beneficial this is:
Little Girl can currently sign - eat, cracker, more, milk, all done (finished), shoe, thank you, brush teeth, please, cat, dog, sleep, ball, rain, day, signing time.
She knows what you mean when you sign - banana, drink, doll, bear, fish, baby, car, bath, sock, coat, book.
And she tries new things everyday.
A few cautions:
This program, like many things, will only be as good as you make it. I can't watch with my girl all the time but I try to watch enough so I know the signs and can do them when we turn the TV off. It helps if your child sees you doing the sign and you might need to move their hands and help them a few times. When we go outside, I sign tree, leaf, flower, sky to Little Girl while I hand her a leaf or walk to a tree.
Your kid probably won't do the sign exactly like Rachel. At first Little Girl would clap for more (instead of just touching her fingers together) and she can't quite reach her elbow to sign cracker. But when you watch the program with your baby you'll learn his/her way of doing things. The kids on the DVD don't do them perfectly but you can still tell what they are signing.
We love this program and I recommend it to anyone looking for signing material. They have books, DVDs, CD's, and material for all ages. Even if your kids are already talking this is beneficial. The signs used are American Sign Language, so your children are actually learning a second language!! See the official website for more information. You can find the DVDs on Amazon and eBay individually but I've never seen the whole set.
If you want a preview, search for Signing Time on YouTube. You won't be able to see all of them but there are quite a few from the baby DVDs and some for the older kids. Happy signing!!
 |
| Little Girl watching this morning. She was attempting to sign rain. |
The family I nanny for used Baby Signing Time with their little girl as well. They started when she was about a year old - she's almost two and a half now, and although she speaks aloud really well, she still supplements signs when I can't understand what she's saying or when she's sleepy. You're so right! It was wonderful seeing her transition from yelling, pointing and grunting, or getting frustrated to actually being able to communicate. I plan on using this or a similar ASL program one day...
ReplyDelete