Customer Reviews

Signing Time Volume 4: Family, Feelings & Fun DVD

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The *theme song* isn't as catchy as it used to be (they changed a few of the words and slowed it down) and are only 1/2 hour long, per volume, but other than that the new videos are every bit as good as the first three... and the other songs are all wonderful.

They've added a cartoon character named Froggy, who acts a lot like the puppets in "Baby Einstein", introducing each new theme.

The new songs won't let those of you down who enjoyed volumes 1-3, and she covers several words in volume 4 such as: "Grandma, Grandpa, Cousin, Aunt, house, home, outside, tree, grass, leaf, clouds, rain, snow, hat, coat, boots, gloves, grumpy, excited, surprised, afraid, love (and the compound sign "ILY")... and those are just the words I remember.

Rachel's wearing colored paint (latex?) on her hands, which is a bit distracting, but I think the idea was so that the children would be able to tell which fingers she was using.

My three year old is trying to sing one of her new songs even as I type this. LOL I should mention he's speech delayed, and Signing Time has been very instrumental to his language skills. The songs, the children in the videos, and the bright colors all draw him in and get him excited enough to want to share what he's seeing. Getting him to *want* to talk is half the battle, and signing time makes it easy.

Rachel has such a way of teaching kids to sign and have fun the whole time. There have been signs I've been working with my son for a few years that he showed little interest in. Until we got this volume and suddenly, he started signing them enthusiastically! As with the previous volumes of Signing Time, William (4½) quickly learned all the signs in it. He loves singing and signing along with Rachel, Alex and Leah.
I know some parents are concerned that signing might impede their child's speech development, but we have found just the opposite here. William has Trisomy 21/aka Down syndrome and apraxia. Signing Time has helped him with Total Communication~ when his speech hasn't been clear, the signing helps him refine the word. I've found that as he watches Signing Time and the repetition of each new word introduced, William is more apt to repeat the word with greater clarity each time. He loves to go around labeling things he's learned from the videos, and then he wants to know more, more more!
This is another must-have for a video library!

I own the first four volumes of this series and feel that they are excellent resources for teaching young children to communicate effectively. My four-year old niece viewed them once and was using the signs very well within minutes. Reinforcement by other family members kept her using the signs for the full two weeks of her visit and she was teaching her toddler brother to sign as well. My infant granddaughters who are seven and eight months old watched the videos and seemed to be fascinated by the small children on the DVD and the bright colors and music. This series is great for parents and children and makes learning ASL fun. I am planning on purchasing the whole series.

As the mother of twins, one hearing and one deaf, I have had the opportunity to check out many programs for teaching ASL to small children. This is by far the best series out there. Most other products are so boring that parents must struggle to stay awake during the production, and there is no way a toddler would tolerate a viewing. My 2-year-old twins request Signing Time all of the time. At home they want the DVDs playing almost constantly. In the car my hearing daughter starts asking for the Signing Time CD before I even have her strapped into her carseat. My 2-year-old deaf daughter is using 5-sign sentences, which is almost unheard of for the deaf child of hearing parents. My extended family owns a total of 6 sets of Signing Time. Whenever my daughters' cousins have a birthday they ask for the latest Signing Time DVDs. Children of all ages love this product.

I really liked this volume of the Signing Time series. This is the first one I bought, so I don't know about the others. My baby is younger than they recommend using the series for, but she seems to like watching it, and the songs get stuck in my head, so she likes to hear them throughout the day. I like that they teach a lot of signs, and aren't overly cutesy--but just enough for kids to like it.

These DVD's are so wonderful, the songs and images are great!My daughter can not get enough of these videos, we have taught her sign language with this series of videos and she now has about 25 signs, some she learned on her own with the video that we never worked on with her once the tape was off. I highly reccommend this video
Jenny

My son was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Delay- Not otherwise specified when he was about two. We were in North Carolia at the time and were referred to TEEACH. It is a wonderful organization. They encouraged us to use visual schedules with him. That didn't really work for us, for many reasons.

Anyway, we invested in Signing time and he and his little brother love the DVDs! Aidan is now three and a half and knows about a hundred signs give or take some and his alphabet. He is talking more and when we don't understand we ask him to sign and many times he can communicate that way.

I think it is wonderful for everyone to know sign language. You never know when you might need it! You'll fall in love with Rachel and Leah and Alex. Great show!

I got Volumes 1-3 right after we had my 2 1/2 yr old tested for language delays. She barely missed the cutoff for services, but we were still concerned. She only had 30 word appoximations! Well, after watching the videos for 1 week, she had picked up 15 signs with the clear spoken word to match! by the end of 5 weeks, she could speak and sign all 100 or so signs from the set! (I also have a 4 1/2 yr old who has also improved with these videos. Plus, my 7 month old daughter is often enthralled with them. She recognizes the sign for "milk" and gets excited when we sign it!)

My husband is Deaf, so we do use sign at home, but she refused to pick up EITHER language. These videos provided a way for her to communicate! Now she is picking up the signs/words from Vol 4-6 just as quickly, and she is stringing words and signs together.

The songs are so fun! You will be singing them even if there are no kids around! I love these videos and what they have given to my daughter!! :)
Jennie

We have 6 or 7 Signing Time DVDs (I'd have to go check). This is by miles all of our least favorite. It just didn't draw me in and the kids were totally uninterested and never ask for it. Everyday Signs and My Favorite things (and both Baby Signing Times we have - 1&2) are my favorites - couldn't pick one out. My kids just LOVE the Zoo Train and even though it's not my fave, I love seeing them sign the animals at the zoo. This one, I would skip if I could do it again.

This DVD is great for the whole family and makes it easy to love doing sign language. My 16 month old twins love the songs and they can express themselves with the signs learned in this video. I plan on buying more Signing Time DVD's because this one is great, educational and fun. Rachel is an excellent teacher.