Out of the millions of alphabet books out there, today I'm loving Tomorrow's Alphabet by George Shannon and Donald Crews. It's a different spin on ABC books and the traditional "A is for apple". I love the thought process involved, and the possibilities for further learning, discussion and activities. The book begins with "A is for seed, tomorrow's apple". Each 2-page spread goes on to show a before and after, or a change... such as "B is for eggs, tomorrow's birds" and "R is for grapes, tomorrow's raisins". At first, I thought the book was much too confusing for Fischer, if my goal was for him to understand the correspondence between letters and sounds. There are better ABC books for that, but now that he is a bit older and seems to already understand letters and sounds, this book opens up some fun dialogue and thinking for him. For older kids, I would just love to make a class book and get them thinking along this pattern. I found a fun one here that a 4th/5th grade class made (click on the pictures to see the full 2 page spreads). There were also some interesting ideas for extension activities and discussion on this site.
Fischer really enjoys letters and of course really digs the old favorite Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert. The simplicity and rhythm of the story seems to snag students of many ages. We also like listening to the songs of it on youtube.
For a unique visual treat, we also really like The Hidden Alphabet by Laura Vaccaro Seeger . Very cool, although probably a bit difficult for the littlest of readers to really identify all of the letters. Once they are familiar with their letters, this is a great one. It is a fun change in perspective and example of optical illusions. There are so many wonderful alphabet books out there... What's your favorite?
Now, for the tiny DVD lovers out there, Leap Frog's Letter Factory is surprisingly enticing.It does a really fun job of introducing the letters and teaching their sounds in a memorable way. It happens to be one of Fischer's faves.
When I was teaching, my students LOVED Gaiam's Yoga kids and especially their ABC video. What a fun way to get a physical understanding of the letters! We'd watch it for inside recess or when we needed a little wiggle time. Although I do have to say that the video never actually fit into the slot of time I allotted and I always turned it off around "V"... now that never really went over to well with my students or the paraprofessionals in the room!
I've been wanting to talk about a few things since our swap package arrived in the UK last week. I'll be doing a series of posts this week about bears. Grizzly bears have been on my mind for awhile and I have a few good things to tell you about.
Today, I'd just like to say again..."Thank you" to Life with Nature Girl for hosting this swap and "Thank you" to Craft Matters for being such good swap partners. Out of all the books in the world to choose from... we both chose to theme our packages around BEARS!! So funny.
Anyway, you already know about the fabulous book "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" that we received... but I wanted to let you know about Michael Rosen (the author) reciting the story on You Tube. T and D's mum told us about it... it is great!! Fischer is in love with the book now and really enjoyed ALL of the You Tube videos on it... I really liked Michael's.
As I've mentioned here and here, we LOVE Signing Time (ST) at our house!!! In fact Fischer and I were quite starstruck when we spotted three of Signing Time's stars at the farmer's market a few weeks ago!!! Recently a Signing Time representative contacted me about reviewing the two new volumes of Baby Signing Time (BST). While Fischer and I never spent much time with the Baby Signing Time videos, I thought this might be a fun way to get myself acquainted with them. Not to mention, I had a feeling Fisch would really dig them!!
Both, Baby Signing Time Volumes 3 and 4 are excellent quality and do not disappoint when it comes to teaching plenty of relevant and age-appropriate signs (approx. 25-30 per video). Rachel introduces each sign with a cheerful and expressive demonstration and description. She is accompanied by an illustration of the word as well as the printed word itself. Each sign introduction is followed by Rachel singing background to many many video images of babies and toddlers practicing the signs. The "model" children are of all races and abilities, and are signing in a variety of settings. The children are shown signing in homes, parks, and yards as well as staged in front of fun patterned backdrops. Not only are there plenty of examples of each sign being performed, but there are ample examples of the word or concept itself. For example, the word "sun" shows real and animated images of the sun, as well as children playing in the sunshine and putting on hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. The word bug might show images of real live bugs, children dressed as bugs, toy bugs, animations of bugs, etc. One of the things I love most about the videos (as a mother of a hearing and typically-developing child) is the vocabulary. Each video reinforces a number of vocabulary words and concepts. For Fischer, this made a huge difference in his speech when he started talking. We would go to the park and he'd be talking about "exploring" on a "path" and looking for "owls" when his speech was brand new!
Baby Signing Time is baby due to the specific vocabulary and concepts taught, the age of the models, and there is a bit more animation than in the regular series. Also Alex and Leah, the stars of Series one and two and the PBS television program, are not in these videos. Their animated diapered counterparts are featured along with a baby Hopkins (the ST frog).
Babies and children and even adults learn the signs easily from both the baby and regular series because each sign is taught with a visual demonstration, a verbal explanation, and plenty of time to physically practice. Three learning styles are used to reach every kind of learner.
Baby Signing Time Volume 3: A New Day:
Some of the signs taught: day, new, outside, wind, rain, snow, sun, cloud, sky, tree, grass, flower, leaf, stop, go, wait, again, bug, up, down, star, moon, night, and good. You can see how many of these signs are immediately relevant to the everyday life of little children. You can start using them right away. There are also 9 new songs performed to help make connections and give practice opportunities to the new signs. Rachel truly does have a beautiful voice and I have never found the songs mind numbing or ear plug worthy!! Of course I'm always a fan of the very last song on each video and this one does not disappoint. "Tiny Hands" is a beautiful song that you want to play behind a slide show of your own beautiful babe. Here is a little preview of BST volume 3:
Baby Signing Time Volume 4: Let's make Friends
Some of the signs taught: friend, 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 and music.
The DVD features 6 new songs and one of my old favorites, "Show Me a Sign" (which is also featured on Signing Time Songs Vol. 1-3 Music CD).
I do like that this video reminds parents to start teaching about emotions early. You know these concepts are important to children. Specifically, I believe it to be important to get a jump on feeling identification for children who have the types of delays evident on the autism spectrum.
Here is a sneak peak of BST volume 4:
While all of the signs in these two volumes of Baby Signing time can also be found on the videos in Series 1 and Series 2, I can see the benefit of showing little ones examples of little ones signing. Also, yes those signs are in other videos but they are not all in one video, they are scattered through the many different themed videos. If I was starting over with an infant, I think the relevance of the vocab in BST is great and would make for a good start. Fischer started with Series 1, volume 1 "My First Signs" at 13 months and took off from there. By 21 months he knew over 250 signs and was talking and pairing the two. So I guess either way is great (although BST volume 1 has words like "diaper" - not featured in any of the other series)... I am just a major fan of the program and I recommend it to all parents. Whether a child is developing typically, showing delays in speech, or is experiencing life with a more severe disability.... communication is the key to unlock their world. So why not?
Two quick notes:
I am just kicking myself for not videotaping Fischer doing his signs before he could talk!!! Grrr.
On BST volume 3 when Rachel is singing "Tiny Hands", images of tiny babies are being shown and then it shows clips of 3 year old Alex and 5 year old Leah in their first DVD and now... and I nearly cried!! Ok I did cry a little. I don't even know these kids but it was really touching to see how they've grown and in less than 2 years time they feel like a part of our family because we've watched them grow through the DVDs.
Anyway, poke around signingtime.com and see what you think. Be sure to check out the links on the "About Us" page. Whether you are interested in the videos or other products or not, it is an inspiring story.
It is no secret that Andy, Fischer and I are huge fans of sign language for babies. We were sold on it as soon as Fisch signed his first words "all done". This was WAY before he started talking. He was a sponge by about 13 months and could pick up new signs really quickly. His vocabulary was quite impressive and he wasn't even talking yet! When he did start talking, he had a lot to say and could help us understand him by pairing his speech and signs. We had racked up a pretty hefty library fine and stopped getting the videos around December, by then he new approximately 250 signs (21 months old), we have just resumed watching the videos this month. Fischer still likes to learn new signs and practice old ones. He still loves to watch the Signing Time videos, and I love them too. Even though he can talk now, the videos help to expand his vocabulary. We love the music. Rachel (the woman in the picture above - that teaches the signs) writes all of her own music and it is really quite fun. We like to sing the songs and practice our signs in the car (probably not the safest idea when driving). The songs that I love the most are at the end of the videos during the credits. These are beautiful heart-felt songs about Rachel's daughters who both have disabilities. This month Signing Time is highlighting the affects that their videos have had on children with Autism. Signing helps kids of all abilities and ages to communicate and that is a very powerful gift! Fisch and I went to the Signing Time concert this fall with some friends. The place was PACKED - actually doubly packed since most of the seats were occupied by a parent and a child. It was wonderful to see all of the little ones like Fisch and his buddies, and also all of the children with disabilities and hearing impairments. This series truly reaches everyone. We borrow the DVDs from the library, but of course they sell them on their website. You can also watch Signing Time on PBS. Here are a few articles about Signing Time and Autism:
You may also be interested in a couple of American Sign Language (ASL) browsers on the Internet, both have videos demonstration clips for every sign: ASL Browser ASL Pro
Out of the millions of alphabet books out there, today I'm loving Tomorrow's Alphabet by George Shannon and Donald Crews. It's a different spin on ABC books and the traditional "A is for apple". I love the thought process involved, and the possibilities for further learning, discussion and activities. The book begins with "A is for seed, tomorrow's apple". Each 2-page spread goes on to show a before and after, or a change... such as "B is for eggs, tomorrow's birds" and "R is for grapes, tomorrow's raisins".
The simplicity and rhythm of the story seems to snag students of many ages. We also like listening to the songs of it on youtube.
Very cool, although probably a bit difficult for the littlest of readers to really identify all of the letters. Once they are familiar with their letters, this is a great one. It is a fun change in perspective and example of optical illusions. There are so many wonderful alphabet books out there... What's your favorite?
It does a really fun job of introducing the letters and teaching their sounds in a memorable way. It happens to be one of Fischer's faves.
What a fun way to get a physical understanding of the letters! We'd watch it for inside recess or when we needed a little wiggle time. Although I do have to say that the video never actually fit into the slot of time I allotted and I always turned it off around "V"... now that never really went over to well with my students or the paraprofessionals in the room! 
