Dec
30
2011
When Sara Nelson Cosmi made this post on our Facebook page, she grabbed our attention!
I just wanted to share a quick story. My husband is a firefighter/EMT and went on a call last night to a house with hearing impaired patients. He was able to communicate with them, asking them “where does it hurt” and spelling out simple words all from watching Baby Signing Time with our daughter. It’s really neat to know that not only is Signing Time teaching our children but we gain from it as well. It encourages us to keep learning ASL and hopefully our children will continue to learn it as a second language. Thank You!
We contacted Sara to find out more:
- Tell us about your family. How did you get started with signing?
Jeff and I married about 5 and 1/2 years ago and moved from Portland, OR to a little town just North called La Center. We both actually work in Longview, WA, Jeff as a firefighter and I am a letter carrier with the USPS. When we were pregnant with our daughter we were already talking about trying to teach her some basic signs. Neither Jeff or I knew any signs, I think I remembered part of the alphabet from when I was in elementary school but that was all we knew. We had heard that signing really helped communication and that Lily would benefit from it in so many ways. So we bought a basic sign with your baby book. After Lillian was born a couple people had told us about baby signing time, so we bought the first volume to try it out. Lily loved watching baby signing time, she quickly learned a few signs and we bought volumes 2 and 3. By a year and a half Lily was a signing machine (we aren’t biased or anything). Me and Jeff were learning a lot too, it was really cool, we knew animals and foods and colors! Lillian is now 2 1/2 and has a baby brother, Baker, who we are turning onto the DVDs. Lily sings the songs to him and is a big help in trying to teach him.
- So what happened when your husband went out on the call you posted about?
A drunk driver had crashed into the side of someone’s house in the middle of the night and landed in a gentleman’s bedroom. The man, his wife and their daughter were all hearing impaired. When Jeff arrived on scene he found out that the family was deaf and asked the man, in sign language, “Where does it hurt?” The man promptly showed him and after they got him stable, Jeff asked, “Where is your I.D?” by signing ‘where’ and then spelling out I.D. The family was able to communicate really well, Jeff said that they were able to read lips fairly well and that they had paper and pens to write stuff out, too. The paramedics came and took over with the gentleman (he was the one in the bed when the car came through the wall) and Jeff tried talking with the wife a bit. She asked him to tell her husband to call on his phone when he got to the hospital and Jeff was able to do so.
- What was your husband’s reaction to this?
Jeff doesn’t really feel like he did anything special. He was able to make some people feel more comfortable because he was able to communicate, however small it may have been, with them at a difficult time and it was all from watching Baby Signing Time with our daughter. Jeff never thought that he would need to use signing on the job but was excited to be able to and is ready to learn more.
- How else has signing impacted your family?
It is really neat to us to be at a gathering or a restaurant and be able to communicate across the room. Or for us to look across the playground and tell Lily to ‘share with her friend’ or ask her to say please. Signing is an awesome way to communicate and we are anxious to learn more. Thank you for helping our family open our eyes to another world..signing!
Dec
01
2011
Your votes are in! Here are the official top 10 Signing Time gifts for 2011:
- Baby Signing Time Full Collection
- All of the Signing Time Products!
- Baby Signing Time, Vol. 1
- Potty Time
- Series 1, Vol. 7: Leah’s Farm
- Series 1 Full Collection
- Signing Time Board Books
- Series 2, Vol. 2: Happy Birthday to You
- Classroom Edition
- Flash Cards
Thank you to our
Facebook fans who participated in this survey! See selected comments below.
I love giving Baby Signing Time as a baby gift. It introduces them to the whole line of great products! – Chana Posen
I love to give Signing Time to moms in public!! When people see my daughter sign and are amazed, I tell them all about Signing Time as if I were a door to door salesman!! We keep some Signing Time DVDs in the car for long trips and I have left them as tips at restaurants, and given them away at grocery stores!! My most recent gifting was to a woman that I met at the grocery store. Both she and her husband are deaf, but have a son who hears. She had never heard of Signing Time, and she is having trouble getting her son to sign. I gave her all of our Baby Signing Time DVDs (My daughter has outgrown them.) And he is beginning to sign! It brings tears to my eyes when I hear of a child learning to sign, It’s like an angel who has gotten their wings!!! – Katie Ralston-Litmer
Leah’s Farm is the hit in our house! The music, along with the signs are just perfect for our little one. She loves Rachel! Our daughter really thinks she will meet her and loves to call her on the Potty Time app. If you don’t have Potty Time, it’s awesome! I suggest a bundle of Everyday Signs, Leah’s Farm and Potty Time. – Jennifer Pedersen
I would love to give Baby Signing Time to everyone! I’m a mom to a child with unilateral hearing loss and speech delay and Baby Signing Time and Signing Time (and now Potty Time!) have made a huge difference in my daughter’s ability to communicate, both in ASL and expressive speech. I think it would be awesome if states sent every new baby a copy of Baby Signing Time, whether they are born in a hospital, birthing center, or at home. Baby carriers and Baby Signing Time are my favorite gifts to give new parents! – Jennifer Pummell Hamner
Learning ASL through watching Signing Time Series One with my daughter has helped me to communicate better with her and her cousins. They are all toddlers. It is much easier to understand their speech when they sign while talking. The videos in Series One have also really helped increase my daughter and nephew’s vocabulary. – Julia Pitt
There is no one product that is best, just the noise I heard from my autistic son at age 5 when he said his first words when watching Signing Time. – John-Erica Belcher
I would love to give the Signing Time Classroom Edition to Primrose Elementary School in Shelburne, Ont. The kindergarten teacher is learning and teaching both her classes signs so they can communicate with their deaf classmate. – Marla Kozak
Jul
18
2011
Would you like to watch Signing Time and Baby Signing Time videos instantly online on your computer or TV? Now you can rent a Signing Time or Baby Signing Time video on Amazon Instant Video! Watch instantly on your PC, Mac, compatible TV or device for just $1.99 per title. You can view the video for 7 days.
Like traditional DVDs? Shop here.
May
12
2011
May is Teacher Appreciation Month! We are grateful to the dedicated men and women who choose to be teachers. We KNOW that you stay up late at night grading papers and making lesson plans. We KNOW how much time and energy you put into helping your students develop a love of learning. Thank you for all you do!
Parents, as the school year draws to a close, thank your child’s teacher with a gift that will benefit students of all ages. Here’s a list of top Signing Time products for teachers:
Rachel Stiening
May
03
2011
The Baby Signing Time “Sign & Read” Collection is now available exclusively at www.babysigningtime.com!
- What’s new in this collection?
- Why did you make the new collection?
- Can I order the board books separately?
- Can I order the collection by phone?
- Can I order it on the Signing Time website?
What’s new in this collection?
In addition to the Baby Signing Time Music CDs and Flash Card Sets, we’ve included:
- New Board Books
Baby Alex, Baby Leah, and Baby Hopkins invite your baby to learn new signs in fun ways in these full-color board books. Each book also includes a sign guide for parents.
- New Parent Guide
This guide to early learning will teach you how to bond with your baby and enhance early learning through talking, signing and reading together. Includes a Sign Glossary of all the signs taught in Volumes 1-4.
- Enhanced DVDs
We’ve added new footage of the printed words with Rachel’s fingers running under them as each one is spoken to show babies that printed words have meaning. It’s part of the “see it, sign it, say it” approach to early learning.
Why did you make the new collection?
We asked Emilie Brown, co-creator of Signing Time and Baby Signing Time, to answer: “Parents are their child’s first teachers, so we made sure this Baby Signing Time collection included a parent guide to early learning. Every parent-child interaction can strengthen the relationship and feed a child’s growing mind. Reading together is an especially powerful way to connect and learn. That’s why we insisted on board books being included in the new collection. We’ve added new footage to the DVDs to highlight printed words. Our goal isn’t to get babies to read, but to experience how language works: a word can be spoken, signed, or printed, and they all share the same underlying meaning. This idea may seem simple to adults, but for young children, it’s a profound discovery.”
Can I order the board books separately?
The board books are only available with the collection. If you already have the Baby Signing Time products and want to get the board books, we suggest that you consider purchasing the new collection and giving the items you already have as gifts.
Can I order the collection by phone?
Yes! Call or Skype (855) 589-7800 Monday – Friday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. MST
Can I order it on the Signing Time website?
Right now, the new collection is only available at www.babysigningtime.com.
