Customer Reviews

Baby See 'N Sign [VHS]

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

TEACH first with "Baby See n Sign." Then ENTERTAIN with "Signing Time." Both are based on American Sign Language and are designed for hearing children. I purchased the first volumes of these two products when my son was 14 months old. At the time, he had a signing repertoire of about 10 signs, including "eat," "milk," "more," "water," and a handful of others. As a teacher of English as a second language, I know that teaching vocabulary to beginners in any language requires clarity and repetition. I found these 2 qualities most prevalent in "Baby See n Sign" Volume 1; over 60 signs are presented one at a time in a clear, focused manner, not amidst an entire story or series of songs. Admittedly, "Signing Time" is more entertaining with lots of real and animated images, lively music, songs, and children performing signs; but there are only 18 signs on the first volume, the signs sometimes lack context, and the children do not provide the best examples of how to produce the signs. Their variations, while cute and interesting to adults, may be too distracting and confusing for a young beginner. Save "Signing Time" for an entertaining reinforcement, and start with "Baby See n Sign."

The 60+ signs on "Baby See n Sign" are divided into several categories, such as "Food," "Let's Get Dressed," and "Down on the Farm"; each category has about 8 signs. I do not recommend that a small child watch this video from beginning to end; there is too much information. What worked for my son and me was to watch one category every few days. We then practiced those signs while having a snack, getting dressed, or playing with his Fisher Price farm animals. And everyday, we watched that section of the video again for further practice and review. It took us about 3 weeks to get through all of the categories, and he now produces most of the signs, some more correctly than others.

We then moved on to "Signing Time" which has been such a fun reinforcement to "Baby See n Sign." Most of the "Signing Time" Volume 1 signs had already been introduced on "Baby See n Sign" Volume 1. My son really enjoys watching the other children sign what he already knows, and he adores the songs. He's even been able pick up the few new signs from "Signing Time"; I just make sure to demonstrate the correct sign on several other occasions. We have recently acquired the remaining volumes of both products. "Baby See n Sign" Volume 2 has over 100 signs and uses the same clear format. Volumes 2 and 3 of "Signing Time" have about 60 signs total, and the entertainment value gets better with each volume-a really great song called "Magic Words" on Volume 2 highlights the use of "please" and "thank-you," and my son loves "The Silly Pizza Song" on Volume 3.

"Baby See n Sign" and "Signing Time" have been instrumental in my son's progress with signing AND speaking. He is now 17 months old, and he recognizes about 80 signs; he can produce about 40 of them, and we're learning more everyday. We have so much to talk about all the time. I truly believe that using "Baby See n Sign" in the introductory phase of signing makes "Signing Time" that much more meaningful and enjoyable. GET THEM BOTH!! Another great resource for signs not included on either video is the Michigan State University's on-line ASL Browser at http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm There you'll be able to click on a word and see a live person demonstrating the sign. I've found this website invaluable for introducing signs for things my son is particularly interested in.

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to review a couple of videos from
different companies directed at teaching sign language to babies. I
couldn't believe the difference between the two! One I can highly
recommend; the other I might recommend as entertainment for your
toddlers, but not for learning to sign.

Baby See 'n Sign, intended
for ages 6 months and up, shows parents and children how to sign 60
words using a variety of learning modes to reinforce the signs. Each
sign is demonstrated for 30 seconds in several different ways-a
picture (real life) of the object, the sign demonstrated by a sign
language professor, the object in action (a baby being dressed or a
child eating a banana, for example), the sign itself again in slow
motion, a different picture of the object and the sign again. For each
shot in the sequence, the sign is spoken as well shown on the screen
in text. The woman who signs on the video uses wonderful expression
and precise signs, both essential for learning sign language. At 14.99,
it's a good value that will encourage your whole family to learn a
fun, useful language.

I really liked this video. It's a wonderful resource for anyone using American Sign Language (ASL) with babies or young children. I teach ASL to hearing parents who use it to communicate with their hearing babies before they're able to speak. My curriculum is based on Joseph Garcia's Sign With Your Baby book, and this is a wonderful supplement to Joseph's book. This video covers all the baby and toddler-oriented words you'd want to teach after the Sign With Your Baby basics...toys, food, animals, etc. It's a great resource for anyone teaching beginning ASL to children, Deaf or hearing. The signs are clear and easy to understand and shown three times in a row...great for beginning signers!

My son is hearing and has been using sign language since he was 12 months old. He's now 2 1/2 and an "old pro" at mastering new signs and using known ones. His speech is developing rapidly now and I treasure videos like these to keep him interested in sign language.

I am not fluent in sign by any means but I still know quite a few signs. This video was instantly valuable to *me* as a parent because I learned new signs right off the bat. It's been said that it is extremely difficult to learn signs from illustrations in a book. Your best bet is to find a deaf person, a sign langauge interpreter, or purchase a video like this one. It has over 60 signs in it and the sign presenter does each sign very clearly.

I recommend this book to anyone who is just starting out signing with their baby or even "old pros" like Corbin and me. This is definitely an excellent video to give as a gift to a child of any age or even adults. Of course, sometimes we like to keep the good ones for ourselves!

Baby See 'N Sign was a big dissapointment to me. I was very excited to recieve it, and could hardly wait to see it. I immediately watched the video when I got it. Unfortunately, I was so bored I had to force myself to watch it! The video has lots of signs, but it has the same person doing and speaking them all-BORING!!! Baby See 'N Sign isn't fun at all.

Fortunately, I had purchased another video at the same time that is wonderful! Signing Time with Alex and Leah is the video I reccomend to everyone who is interested in teaching their children sign language. I would even reccomend it to an adult who wants to learn!!! My 14 month old has all three volumes. We love to watch and practice them. He uses and can sign about fifty different words he learned by watching Signing Time.

I began using sign language with my son when he was about 10 months old. One day, before he was even 11 months old and still not talking, he was obviously feeling irritable. At that point, as was the whole first year, my husband and I could only guess why he was feeling uncomfortable, and do our best to try to comfort him. But on this particular day, he surprised us when he signed hurt and pointed to his mouth. Wow! For the first time our baby could actually tell us what was wrong. He was teething....and it hurt! Now, without guessing, we could take the steps we felt were needed in order to make him feel better. This is only one example of how signing with your child is beneficial to both you and your child.

Baby See n' Sign is a great resource for parents. The video introduces the viewer to American Sign Language (ASL). Unlike some vocabulary videos that only present between 10-30 words, this 45 minute video presents OVER 60!! The words are broken down into categories that will reflect day-to-day things and activities in your child's life. The signs, which are repeated numerous times, are presented with corresponding images, as well as the spoken and written word. Both my son and I enjoy the video. He has actually been able to pick-up signs from the video that I have not even used with him myself.

I feel it is most important to mention that this video accurately demonstrates the use of ASL signs. I have found that many sign language resources either are not teaching ASL or they are introducing signs modified for babies. Though I do feel that it is fine for babies to simplify the signs, I find it important to begin by knowing and introducing the correct way to perform the sign, just as you would with spoken vocabulary. This video shows the correct sign which allows the parent or child to modify the sign if desired or needed.

Though this video is intended for children,I feel it is also a great resource for anyone, adult or child, interested in learning ASL.

My son, who is now 22 months old, knows over 150 signs that he uses regularly with his spoken vocabulary. The fact that he knows sign language has increased our ability to communicate with each other and has aided us in better understanding his spoken words. Often, if I do not understand what he is trying to say, I ask him for the sign. That always clarifies things. He even uses sign when he is playing alone with his toys. I have seen him speaking for and with his stuff animals - apparently they know sign too!

This is a terrific way to introduce your children (and yourself) to ASL. The pace is slow...like a video board book. By the time you have watched it through, you actually KNOW some signs. If your children are like mine, we watch a new video several times the first day after it arrives in our home. This was no exception. So, by the time we ate dinner that night, we all could show Daddy several signs. My children are ages 10, 6, 4, and 16 months. We have enjoyed learning together and signing with the youngest especially. It is so exciting when she signs to us and people are amazed(some had said that babies couldn't really learn to sign--which is apparently a wrong assumption!). We began months ago to simply teach the baby the signs we were learning,but now she watches the video herself and signs along. We plan on learning more ASL now. I highly recommend this great video as a wonderful way to begin learning American Sign Language! With this video, you and your children will learn some ASL painlessly!

Shannon Vyff

Wichita, KS

I am so excited that I played this for my 13 month old and she started to sign on her own! Now she uses the more sign all the time, its so cute... If you are looking for lots and lots of signs to communicate to your baby, toddler or pre-schooler, the Baby See N Sign video set is just the BEST! I am having such a great time learning to sign these basic ASL signs along with my daughter! We are having such a ball discovering something new and useful TOGETHER! I'm sure that when she starts actually talking she will always be quite expressive with her hands! I am ordering the second vido too and I will have the categories/words covering everything a parent can think of such as: Lets Get Dressed, Food, Chow Time, Play Time, Animal Pals, Down on the Farm, Away We Go, Familiar Faces and Places, Outdoors, Zoo Friends, Party Time, My Body, Bath Time and Nighty-Night. The signs are clear, without obstruction (words don't even appear over the signer, and the pictures used are engaging) Also all the images reinforce the words/signs three different times. Its obvious there was much planning that went into word selection and presentation by the company/producer. Thanks for giving me and my kids a new hobby (ages 6,4 and 1)! (it is cute to see my 6 year old saying she knows how to sign, and practising along as well!) I hope you enjoy it if you choose it for your home! -- Shannon Vyff

I teach sign classes for parents and their babies. This video is a great tool for parents to reinforce and practice the signs they learn in my class. The visuals do a wonderful job of keeping babies attention. I also like that each sign is repeated 3 times with different photo examples of each. I recommend this video to any parent who wants to enrich and enhance communication with their child.

This video is wonderful! For children who have developmental delay, PDD/NOS, or autism this video is great! (Even if my child didn't have autism, I'd have this video!)
My child cannot vebally communicate, so we are working on ASL. He already understands a few signs. I highly recommend using ASL if your child can't verbalize.
My child loves watching this video. It is very well made and although there are no children showing how to sign, there are babies in the video. I have the Talking Hands video and I prefer this one. My child enjoys this one a lot more.
For anyone who has a child that is developmentally delayed, I recommend this video, the Baby Bumblebee series, and the Baby Einstein videos.