We were so lucky to have the chance to preview the upcoming releases of volumes 3 and 4 of Baby Signing Time. Libby and Drew just LOVE volumes 1 and 2, so we were very excited to see more. We've watched them a few times and they get excited to see Alex, Leah, Hopkins, and Rachel. I'm glad to have the chance to review them because there were a lot of things we liked.
First, the songs are really catchy as always with pictures and videos of lots of different children doing the signs. I REALLY like how Rachel is repeating the word and sign over and over several times before singing that part of the song. This is really apparent in "A New Day" as she repeats "day" over and over-- and not just saying, "Day, sign day." Instead, she does it just how we SLP's recommend-- by saying the word several times, but by adding other words to each repetition. For example, she says something to the effect of: "DAY- your finger shows the sun going across the sky- DAY. You sign it- DAY. When I wake up, it's a new DAY. DAY," etc. These may not be her exact words, but it's something to this effect.
I was so happy to see "Outside" since I use these signs a lot to talk about "wind, sun, rain" etc!! What a sweet little song, too. Plus I didn't ever teach them "outside" itself, so it was good to have that sign included.
We really like the song "Strollin'" because it reviews tree, leaf, flower, grass, etc. which are things we often see on a walk in the wagon. Plus the tune is really catchy. Take a preview here:
It's great to see "Stop and Go" since these are important signs and ones I always use with my special education students-- STOP is really important to express to have a child stop yelling, stop kicking, stop crying, stop playing, and most importantly-- stop running (big safety risk). "Wait" is also a good one and one I use a lot with my students.
Baby Signing Time never disappoints in including a tear-jerker song at the end of each DVD. Vol. 3's "Tiny Hands" is definitely one! It was also so great to see Leah and Alex and how much they've grown up in real life. Amazing!
I really hate to say ANYTHING negative about BST because L&D have both learned so much from volumes 1 and 2. But there were some things that made me think a little bit... For example, I wondered why some words were chosen b/c I don't feel that they are signs (or words even) that a baby up to 36 months would use on a regular basis. For example, "new" in "A New Day". I know Rachel wanted to show this sign because it's part of the song title, but I guess I just don't see a child using "new" all that often. But it may just be me?? I also got confused b/c I think "A New Day" and "Sunny Day" should really be together in 1 song. Especially b/c "A New Day" only reviews 2 signs-- "new" and "day". Whereas "Sunny Day" goes into sun, cloud, sky. I do, however, like how "Starry Night" is the same tune as "Sunny Day"-- good for repetition.
In Vol. 4, I love to see emotions in "Can You Feel It" as it reviews emotions, like happy and sad:
Another great tune shows opposites like hot/cold, yes/no (signs I use a lot) in "Opposites". Maybe now that "NO" is used by Rachel, Libby and Drew will actually respond to it when I use it!!!
"That Tastes Good" does a nice job at showing foods looking different, depending on how they're cooked-- e.g. a raw apple as a whole/slices vs. those in a jar.
"In the Sky" shows "bubbles", which is a sign I couldn't remember recently and meant to look up since we started blowing bubbles a lot (plus they love when I blow bubbles with my gum and to see them in the bathtub)!
"Toy Box" adds things that L&D are so into right now-- telephone and music! If only they had "dance" to go along with it.
I wish these DVD's could go into volumes 5 and 6, and 7 and 8 and... because I know we could come up with all kinds of signs to use. Some that I would hope to see eventually include more attributes, like colors, shapes. Also, more toys (blocks), transportation (stroller, wagon, truck), animals (dinosaur, sheep, pig, butterfly), and foods (yogurt, eggs, cheese, bread, cookie), feeding words (cup, plate, spoon, fork), and action words (sit, stand up, walk, run, jump, dance). But I guess everyone could have their own list, which would make it near impossible to include them all!
But overall, BST does not disappoint with developing 2 more wonderful additions to our DVD library! It looks like Volumes 3 and 4 are available now (and can be bought separately) as I found in this trailer: Go to their website for more info: Baby Signing Time
Oh, and 1 more thing I found out from YouTube... the little girl Fireese, who I showed in a previous post, was contacted by Rachel and is included in the new BST DVD's. Pretty cool!
Thats really interesting to hear your view point as a SLP. I think aside from teaching the signs, the pictures and speaking really explain concepts too. And I tend to get choked up during the tear-jerker songs too. lol I have to focus on something else and not listen to the words. lol Glad you have the dvd now. :)
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