Sign With Your Baby Complete Learning Kit (ASL-based Book, Training Video & Quick Reference Guide combination)

Rating:
Summary: fun for the whole family
Review: I purchased this item after contemplating whether I should take a signing class or just trying to learn it on my own. Since it was going to be difficult to get out of the house to attend the classes without my newborn, I decided to go with this product. It has proven to be a very good purchase!

I started learning and practicing the signs when my daugher was about 6 months old. I started using them with her immediately, even though I knew she was probably a little young to pick them up right away (I mostly did this so I could practice and get used to signing). I also started to get my husband and 7 year old daughter into the habit of signing by teaching them a few of the first basic ones they recommend starting with. Sometimes I think my 7 year old enjoyed it more than my husband and I!

We started to really focus on teaching her around 11 months. With all three of the rest of us using them, she caught on very quickly! It was just a matter of a few days using each sign before she caught on and started using them herself! It was so cool! I'm sure the fact that we all would get so excited and praise her when she produced the sign at the correct time helped keep her interested. She is now almost 15 months and we teach her a new sign every week or two. We choose things that seem to come up in our daily routines quite often. She catches on a produces the signs in a matter of days at this point. Although the video suggests it is possible for them to pick up the signs and start producing them a little earlier, I think around the 1 year mark is working out very well. She is in the stage where she wants to do everything we do (and that her big sister does) so she is very receptive to what we teach her.

Besides the fact that is it so neat to see her catch on and learn things so quickly, the fact that she can communicate with us and tell us exactly what she wants (or doesn't want), has been so nice! I'm sure we have saved many hours of crying and frustration in trying to figure out what she wants or needs!

We also keep her daycare informed of the signs she knows and they have been good about keeping up with them and responding to what she communicates with them. Once they start learning signs, I recommend informing everyone that she/he may be with so they understand and respond to their needs.

It is nice to have the video and the book to refer to whenever we want to learn a new sign. Overall, this has proven to be a fun experience for the entire family! I highly recommend this product!!!

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Teaches PARENTS how to START signing with their hearing children, ages 6 months to 2 or 3 years. Based on American Sign Language. For children who already know a few signs or who already possess a healthy speaking vocabulary, allow me to suggest "Baby See n Sign" and "Signing Time" instead (click on "see more about me" above for my reviews on these two products). When my son was 11 months old, I received Joseph Garcia's "Sign with your Baby" complete learning kit as a gift; it included a video, book, and laminated quick reference guide. We even ordered an additional quick reference guide for Grandma and Grandpa. After viewing the video a couple of times and reading the book, my husband and I felt informed on the research that supported signing with hearing children; we felt equipped to correctly model the first three signs that we were to introduce (eat, milk, and more); and we knew, in general, how long it would take for our son to reciprocate those first signs. After what seemed like two long months of repetitive signing on Mom and Dad's part, our son began to crudely reproduce the signs on his own. It was so cool to watch!! Again, I turned to Joseph Garcia's "Sign with your Baby" video to choose the next signs I'd introduce (we chose bath, banana, apple, telephone, and juice). It was at this time that I became disappointed with what the product offered. The alphabetical "Sign with your Baby" vocabulary on the video was tedious to fast forward and rewind through, and I felt the vocabulary would've been better presented in categories such as food, animals, everyday verbs, opposites (i.e. big/small, hot/cold), etc.; the alphabetical listing was virtually useless to me and entirely useless to my son because there were no pictures to go along with the signs. And so I went in search of additional resources. After reading EVERY SINGLE review I could find on signing video products at amazon.com, I decided on "Baby See n Sign" Volume 1 and "Signing Time" Volume 1; I have not been disappointed. These two products are designed to be viewed by parents AND children. To date, my 17-month-old son recognizes about 80 signs and produces about 40 signs with varying accuracy. To recap, Joseph Garcia's "Sign with your Baby" complete learning kit is great for getting parents STARTED with signing, but it falls short of being a useful resource to those who've already started signing or whose children already possess some verbal skills; in this case just check out Garcia's book from the library to learn about the research and methods he addresses in the video. Then invest your money elsewhere, like in "Baby See n Sign" and "Signing Time" videos. ONE FINAL THOUGHT: In one amazon.com review of Joseph Garcia's "Sign with your Baby," the video is criticized as "something of an infomercial...I expected more actual instruction and demonstration...There should have been more showing and less telling." While I agree to a certain extent with this reviewer, I strongly believe PARENTS should be educated in the research and methods associated with TEACHING a second language. I taught English as second language for many years in Japan; keeping up-to-date on the latest research and employing age-appropriate methods were essential in helping my students master a second language. Of all the signing products I've seen for hearing children, Joseph Garcia presents this aspect best. Good luck to anyone embarking on this adventure; it's a lot of FUN!!!

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I am so amazed and happy that my son has learned sign language. This kit really works! Out of the blue he'll do a new sign. It is so cool. Just keep using the signs and the baby will learn. It is a great way to communicate with your baby before he/she can talk. I highly encourage others to try sign language with their baby.

Rating:
Summary: Great Help
Review: My sons are 20 and 2 months old. We started signing to the oldest when he was 9 months, and he now signs over 60 words and signs to his brother. Signing helps us out because we don't always understand what he is saying verbally. In public, we can also tell him to 'sit' and 'stop', and say 'no' without causing a scene. We love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Effort!
Review: Buy this program, commit yourself to it, and when you get tired and discouraged, do it anyway! The program says it may take several weeks to two months for your baby to produce a sign. We started at 7 months & our baby didn't produce a sign until she was 12 months. But the next signs came so much more quickly and people are amazed at how our baby can communicate. At 15 months she can not only ask to eat, but she can also specify that she wants toast, banana, cookies, etc.

This program has been criticized for its lack of material. Its simplicity is an attribute. You don't have time to read detailed materials anyway. Spend an hour with this book, watch the video, and sign, sign, sign!