Rating: 
Summary: The best of this series
Review: Of these videos in the "Signing Time!" series, this one has the most signs and the most songs. ("Music? In a sign lanaguage video?" Yes, this is a sign language video for hearing childern! There is even an audio CD of the music.) The "Silly Pizza" song uses repetition (in a very fun way) to reinforce a number of signs.This video can be enjoyed over and over again by both children and adults. The music is a kind of light/folky rock that appeals to both age groups. [small side point: not much ethnic diversity in the cast. Also, in these videos boys don't play with dolls. They do play football, however.]
Rating:
Summary: The best of this series
Review: Of these videos in the "Signing Time!" series, this one has the most signs and the most songs. ("Music? In a sign lanaguage video?" Yes, this is a sign language video for hearing childern! There is even an audio CD of the music.) The "Silly Pizza" song uses repetition (in a very fun way) to reinforce a number of signs. This video can be enjoyed over and over again by both children and adults. The music is a kind of light/folky rock that appeals to both age groups. [small side point: not much ethnic diversity in the cast. Also, in these videos boys don't play with dolls. They do play football, however.]
Rating:
Summary: Even better than the first one!
Review: The "Signing Time" video series is targeted to young hearing children (intended audience: 0-5 years), though it is a wonderfully non-threatening way for persons of any age to learn sign language. Parents don't need to already know sign language in order to help their children learn the signs in the videos. The videos are quite thorough - with each sign being demonstrated once by Rachel (mother of a deaf child, and co-creator of the series), and then multiple times in a variety of situations by a variety of children. (Note that volumes 2 and 3 are a little less repetitious than Volume 1 - for better or worse, depending on your preference.) The narration on the videos is done primarily by young children. The signs are linked well with the objects, emotions, etc., that they represent. The children in the videos are "real" - demonstrating the signs in their own imperfect ways, according to their abilities - much the same as when children learn to speak with their voices. There is cute animation and fun background music with sound effects that make the videos pleasing to watch. I purchased volumes 1-3 of the Signing Time video series a few weeks ago (along with the music CD containing all the songs in these volumes). While volume 1 ("My First Signs" - with 18 signs) is very good, volumes 2 ("Playtime Signs" - with 28 signs) and 3 ("Everyday Signs" - with 32 signs) are even better. For starters, I thought Rachel looked too serious and tense when she demonstrated signs in the first video, whereas she appears more relaxed and inviting in the newer videos. Perhaps more importantly, though, the latter two videos make much broader use of Rachel's musical talents, with catchy, original songs sprinkled throughout the video (as opposed to only an opening and closing song in the first video). Another change is that in the 2nd and 3rd videos, words are presented in groups (e.g., hot & cold, friend & play, etc) rather than individually. In the extra features section of the DVD there is a new feature called "Putting it all Together" in which Rachel gives useful sign language tips. The tips are excellent, but the segment is much too short. Hopefully this will be expanded in future volumes. The other extra features are: songs, sign review and scene selection. I was disappointed that there isn't a parent's guide with the videos, but I have found helpful information on the signingtime.com website. If you need to be convinced of the benefits of teaching sign language to your hearing child, or you want to see clips from the videos, check out that website.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Communication!
Review: This DVD and CD (the whole set of 6, actually) opened the door to new communication with my nondisabled 6 year old, who loved having a "secret language", my nondisabled 2 year old nephew and my speech delayed 2 year old daughter, I don't know how we ever got along without it! A MUST HAVE for any parents interested in seeing what their child has to say!
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: This is mainly directed towards hearing children. I am amazed at how quickly my two children (ages 3 and 4) picked up on many of these signs and use them daily. There is a word shown on the screen (mother, for example) and then the lady demonstrates the sign with a description of the sign (you touch your thumb to your chin). Then you see many mothers and many kids signing mother. This one has a lot of songs on it and they are fun songs too. This is well worth the money and very fun.
Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Fun For the Whole Family!
Review: We bought all three of the Signing Time! DVD's for our son when he was 9 months old. We watch one a day and I think this one is our favorite. We love the Silly Pizza song. I wish we had bought these sooner! My son thinks these are great and now he's signing and trying to say the words as well at just 13 months. It is so wonderful to be able to know what he is thinking about already. I recommend these to everyone! I can't wait until the next three come out.
Rating:
Summary: Watch Signing Time everyday
Review: We discovered Signing Time while researching ASL (American Sign Language) as a 2nd language for our children. We knew we wanted to teach ASL as a 2nd language because of the many benefits such as earlier communication. You can communicate with your baby as young as 8 months old, maybe even younger. What a gift to know what your child needs before they can tell you with spoken words! For more information on the benefits of ASL check out the Signing Time website at www.signingtime.com
We love this volume of Signing Time. The songs are wonderful and work very well in a school setting as well as at home. The songs are very catchy so you will find they get stuck in your head. Alex and Leah do a great job. We love to see the 2 friends/cousins interacting together.
We like that the written word comes on the screen first and then they show the sign. It is very helpful for practicing the signs. It is like a video flashcard. It also helps children develop reading skills because they start to recognize the written word that goes with the sign. We love watching the children do the signs because you see lots of different kids and lots of different skill levels. It gives you an idea of how your child might make the sign at different ages. Rachel also does the sign so you can clearly see the proper way to do it.
The song during the credits is a great way to learn additional signs that were not covered in the show. You can really add to your signing vocabulary if you pay attention.
I highly recommend this volume of signing time as well as the other 5 in the series. As a mother and a teacher I can say it is truly the best educational tool I have found for teaching ASL to children (and adults too). I hope they make many more and I will buy them all without hesitation. These shows are a labor of love for these families and we are thankful they chose to share with us.
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