Signing Time...a rave and a question

[parkersmama]

I'm so thankful for all the recommendations here for the Signing Time DVDs! Amy Grace got one for Christmas (my MIL bought it from my Amazon wish list...good MIL) and gave us enough extra money to buy the other two. I love, love, love the first one (the only one we've watched). It is really cute and easy to follow. Amy Grace is paying rapt attention whenever it's on and my boys are pretty into it as well. They've learned all the signs and are helping me teach them to her. When Parker had his tonsils out on Thursday and was struggling to talk, I told him to use the sign for water whenever he wanted a drink and that worked great! So, they've already come in handy! I figured that Amy Grace is ready for them because she has started waving "hello" and "bye-bye" in the last few weeks and she's approaching 8 months old.

So, here's my question: should I just let her keep watching the first DVD until she picks up some of the signs or should I go ahead and introduce the other DVDs as well and just "mix it up"?? I don't want her to become confused or overwhelmed but also would hate for her to get bored and not want to watch any more. I'm hoping someone who has used these will have the answer for me! Thanks!

[cdlamis]

Definitely "mix it up" and sign all the words as much as you can. It may be overwhelming for both of you at first but she will absorb it all. IMO, its just like talking to her- she doesn't get many of the words you say but it's all being registered in her brain. It amazes me how quickly they can pick up on new words- Julia learned cookie after one viewing but has yet to sign other words. Go figure!

Have fun!
Daniella
Mom to Julia 6-13-02
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b32dc745c42b

[Karenn]

I vote for one at a time. I'm sure Amy Grace is capable of learning all the signs at once, but I know with Colin, we found that in the beginning, ALL of his signs looked the same. Ball, more, shoes and socks were identical for weeks. So were mommy, water, & kitty. Auntie Gretchen is still rather annoyed that her sign looks just like potty. ;)

With context, we were usually able to figure out what he was talking about, but it was a little challenging. I think that if we'd exposed him to all the signs in the beginning, we would have had a really hard time figuring out what he was refering to sometimes- I'm sure grandma, cereal and doll would have looked exactly like mommy, kitty and water. :) I know it's doable to teach all the signs at once, but I think it really helped us to keep it simple.

Colin still hasn't gotten bored with any of the videos, and we've watched them all zillions of times. We watched them every day for a several month period. Now I think I'm going to have to splurge for the music CD because Colin's asking me to sing the "Please and Thank You" song all day long!

[parkersmama]

Bumping this up since I got mixed advice! ;) I'm hoping for additional input...thanks!

Thanks for your help Daniella and Karen!

[jojo2324]

I've been going one DVD at a time...But we moved on to the second one before he "mastered" the first one. He still only has a few signs (dog, food, and yes). I don't know if I should move on to the third one or not.

Maybe you could focus on one for a length of time, then the next one, then the next one...And then start to mix them up?

[cchavez]

Diego just got his DVDs last nite for Xmas. We just watched our first one and I have to admit he was not as enthralled w/ them as he is w/ Baby Einstein. Anyway.....I plan on having us preview all 3 for a couple of weeks and then focusing on one at a time. As an SLP I know some sign (but not alot) so these DVDs will be somewhat of a refresher for myself. So I am hoping that I will pick up the signs very easily by previewing them and be able to use more signs w/ Diego as I communicate w/ him. hth

[mamahill]

I bought the first one and she watched it over and over again. Once she started to not be as enthralled, I bought the next two. In retrospect, I don't know if it would be better to do one at a time, or all of them. In regular speaking, the babies hear all sorts of words, but definitely ones that are repeated more and focused on are generally the ones they pick up on. A friend of mine who is partially deaf, and married to a deaf man, has two hearing children, but they signed with them from the beginning. Her son began signing back at 6 months (I believe it was milk), and from there on out began signing a lot. I think as long as you've watched it enough that you and your boys know the signs, and then can use those signs during the day, that will be a good refersher for Amy Grace. Just remember to use the signs whenever you use the words. Personally, I like vols 2&3 better because I think they have better songs.

Beth gave me this web site that has loads of words and video of the signs:
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm

[JulieL]

I bought all three at once. But I brought one new one out each month. We don't have much money so having a new video was really special. This way the excitement lasted. As far as confusing her, na I don't think so. But hey it's up to you. I love them and heard they want to do a new set...when!!! Do what you want!

[egoldber]

I honestly don't think it matters. Sarah already had several signs before I bought these videos, and she was older, so I just showed them to her all at once. Again, she was older, but but she picked up about 50 signs in the first week or two after watching the videos and she wasn't confused at all.

Honestly, it may be more confusing for YOU than for AG to try to keep all the new signs straight! :)

[parkersmama]

Thanks, everyone! I decided to watch another one today (although AG only watched part of it) and picked the 3rd one because "everday" signs seemed more important to me than "playtime" signs. Of course, some of the signs aren't too relevant to us right now (for instance "candy"...she isn't old enough!) but I *loved* the video! The songs are terrific and I enjoyed seeing a different one. I guess maybe the key is switching them up so that I don't get bored!! LOL! And, Beth, you're right...I think it's going to be me that gets confused...so many signs, such an old brain! ;)

[parkersmama]

That site is great! Thanks!

[egoldber]

Denise, FYI, Playtime Signs is MY favorite. :) I love the "Please and Thank You" song. :)

[parkersmama]

We watched it today and I loved the "Please and Thank You" song too! I just can't seem to get that "Silly Pizza Song" out of my head though! LOL! Parker and I have been singing it and trying to (slowly) sign it all day. :)

Beth, I don't know how much you know about ASL but I have a question...in the "It's Signing Time" song she signs an "A" at her cheek for Alex and an "L" for Leah. The "A" she does with one quick motion but the "L" she uses a sort of round motion. Do you know why? Does this have to do with the gender of the person? I've been wanting to use a "W" for Wesley and a "P" for Parker so that Amy Grace can eventually use those signs for them but I'm not certain which way to do it (short motion or circular motion). I guess it's not *really* important but I'm trying to figure it all out! :)

[gremlin44]

I'm a sign language interpreter....

The motion in name signs has no reference to gender. The only (from my studies) gender indication in a name sign is that boys' names tend to be signed on the forehead/temple/side of the head and girls' names tend to be signed on the lower cheek/by the mouth. That is because the upper part of the head is associated with male signs (like UNCLE, BOY, FATHER, etc.) and the area below the nose is associated with female signs (MOTHER, GIRL, AUNT). This isn't set in stone, but it is typical. I don find it odd that Alex's sign name is in the "female area."

You probably shouldn't sign Wesley with a W near the mouth/cheek area. That's fairly similar to the sign for WINE.

A better place would be to sign the W and the P over the left chest/heart area with just a simple tapping motion against the chest.

[jojo2324]

Interesting...I was wondering how people came up with a sign for their names. I was pretty sure it was the first letter, and then a special spin that they put on it themselves. But that's for conversation with those close to them, right? Otherwise, isn't the whole name spelled out?

[gremlin44]

Generally you don't give yourself a sign name. They are supposed to be given to you by Deaf people. There are "generic" name signs that are the first initial placed on the chest or the male or female half of the head. There also name signs that take your initial and incorporate them into a sign that describes something about you.

For example: My name is Stephanie Hartman. When I was learning to become an interpreter, my Deaf teachers gave me the sign name of S signed like tattoo because I have a vine tattoo around my wrist. When I started interpreting in the schools, one of my bosses wanted us to use our last names with the students, so my new sign name was the sign HEART+MAN. One student decided to sign my name as an S going down the side of the head to the shoulders to indicate my long straight hair.

Sign names are only used in conversation to refer to people that both/all parties know. Otherwise, yes, you do spell out the whole name.

[egoldber]

In the signing class I took when DD was 8 months old, we gave ourselves name signs. But the instructor sort of warned us not to use the name signs in front of a deaf person, since it was the tradition in the deaf community that name signs should only be given by a deaf person. So she also taught us the "standard" name sign, of using the first initial over the heart.

And Sarah asks for the videos by signing "signing" or signing "Leah". Very cute. :)

[peanut4us]

We rotate them based on when we get tired of them. I like Everyday signs the best... mostly because I LOVE the obnoxious songs. We sing along to the Silly Pizza Song. And DH and I both sing the "I'm a girl; I'm a boy" song to Sara when we're just goofing around.