Signing Time Volume 4

Baby Signing Time Volume 4: Let's Be Friends

Signs we learn: friends, play, share, nice, feel, sad, cry, happy, laugh, opposite, hot, cold, yes, no, dirty, clean, you, me, apple, pear, carrot, peach, juice, bubble, balloon, telephone, game, music.

Let's Be Friends: This section shows children signing friend, play, share, and nice. The children are playing with each other, sharing their toys, and being nice (not knocking down the blocks). I have to say that although Rebecca & Mary-Gail knew the signs for "share" & "nice" before watching this DVD, they use it a lot more!

Can you feel it? Rachel does it again with another wonderful song illustrating the signs she teaches. We learn: feel, sad, cry, happy, laugh. During the song, Rachel asks, "Can you feel it?" and signs "feel" throughout while the children sign the different feelings. The children's faces exaggerate the feeling (sad, cry, happy, laugh) and there is one boy who is laughing hysterically when he signs laugh - it makes the girls laugh too. I like this section because of the song, and how Rachel teaches the signs through the song. There are small parts that remind me of the trailer of The Brady Bunch show - where the children & parents are lined up in boxes on the TV screen. After we learn the signs for the feeling, the TV screen divides into 4 boxes and we see 4 children signing the feeling. It works really well with this section (hope I explained that well enough). Also, Rebecca pushes her bottom lip out and fake-cries when the the animated frog, Hopkins' ice cream falls - she feels his pain!



Opposites: Rachel asks, "Do you know what an opposite is?" She helps engage the child and prompts him/her to think about opposites. In addition to the signs Rachel teaches - hot, cold, yes, no, dirty, clean, you, me - she uses signs that help the child visualize what an opposite is: tall, short, big, small, wet, dry, yours, mine. She also teaches "different" when she explains what opposites are. This section has a very catchy tune with Rachel teaching us the "opposites game." The background changes with each opposite: red background for "hot;" then changes to blue for "cold." The background is splattered with dirt for "dirty;" then is wiped clean for "clean." This is another visual learning tool that Rachel continues to use through out this section.

That Tastes Good: Wearing a giant bib, Rachel teaches us the signs for apple, pear, carrot, peach, and juice (and tree). She helps the child understand that when he/she eats the food, it might look different from when it's picked off the tree. She shows what the food looks like when it's picked off the tree (again, I LOVE REAL PICTURES!) and then shows what the child's food might look like. The Signing Time children sign the food, some of them eat the food - none of them gaging, thank goodness - and then Rachel tastes each food (in its puree form) from a big spoon. She satisfactorily says "MMM,MMM,MMM,MMM. That tastes good!" She then shows that each of these foods can be juice, signs juice, and then adds the sign for apple. "Apple Juice." This section ends with Rachel drinking juice from a sippy cup, just like the little kids do. Rachel makes trying foods look fun and satisfying.

In the Sky: This section is, by far, my girls' favorite! They start saying "bubbles" as the animated Alex, Leah, & Hopkins blow bubbles. Rebecca is especially interested in Hopkins as he hops into a bubble and starts to float to the sky. Rachel shows the sign for bubbles - your fingers flick out like bubbles popping - and as she signs, her "bubbles" pop with a sound that the girls try to imitate. Seriously, they LOVE this section! Next sign we learn is balloon with Rachel giving a cautionary reminder that blowing up balloons is for adults.

Toy Box: We learn 3 signs in this section: telephone, game, music. Since watching this section, Rebecca has turned everything into a phone - even a pad of paper! I thought this section was a little cheesy, especially the parts for telephone and music. The song goes, "...Mom's love their telephone too," and shows a Mom holding her toddler on her hip (who is holding a play phone) while she talks on the phone and stirs a bowl of cookie dough/flour. Although this is a normal occurrence at my house, I thought it was a little overdone and cheesy. The other part that I thought was cheesy was "...Mom's love their music too," and shows a mom in her car signing "la, la, la, la, la" VERY exaggerated. However, neither Rebecca nor Mary-Gail seem to notice. They even point out the play piano that the child has in the backseat. Lastly, the song ends with Rachel singing, "I open my toy box, and peek inside. What will I find, what will I find" and has a girl pulling out a teddy bear. Rebecca says "Bear" and roars while she signs it.

Show me a sign: I LOVE this song. This song was on the 1st Signing Time show we purchased (in VHS). Rachel has remade it a little, and it sounds just as good as the original.

Overview:
Rebecca & Mary-Gail are very engaged in this DVD. They seem to like some sections more than others (they really liked "In the Sky" section). The songs are perfect, as they always are, and Rachel is a great teacher. The Signing Time children all appear to be 3 years and younger and sign very well. I've noticed that Rebecca & Mary-Gail seem to pay more attention when they see the children signing. Great DVD. I would definitely add this Volume and Volume 3 to my Signing Time collection!