Search - Signing Time! Series Two Volume 1: Nice to Meet You on DVD

Phrases - finally!

Sonja | East Coast, USA | 12/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We have all of the DVDs in Signing Time "Series 1," and I was curious as to why this release was listed under "Series 2" instead of just being "Volume 14." Then I saw that there were actual phrases/sentences in this DVD, including the title, "Nice to meet you," as well as, "What's your name?"/ "My name is," and, "How are you?" / "I'm fine." (FYI in the special features, the worst off you can be is okay - I guess no one is doing badly in the Signing Time world LOL.) So I thought to myself, "Oh, that's why this is 'Series 2' -- it's the next step. We'll learn phrases and sentences instead of just single words from here on out. Makes sense!" However, I've now seen a couple of the other DVDs (Happy Birthday to You and My Favorite Sports) from 'Series 2," and thus far, this volume, "Nice to Meet You" is the only one with phrases/sentences. The others are just a bunch of single words again, which I found disappointing.

I guess the reasons that this is now "Series 2" are because of 1) the production value and 2) the use of one song for all new words. As for point 1) Alex and Leah aren't acting in front of a green screen and interacting exclusively with cartoons. Now there's a real set with real, physical objects that they use in their little "skits." Rachel's background is also different, although she's still basically in front of a green screen. This aspect of "Series 2" is a nice improvement.

As for point 2, in "series 1" DVDs there were usually 3 songs that split up the three different topics/acts typically included in each DVD, and the 3 songs incorporated the words from each topic/act. In "series 2" there is one song. The DVD is still broken up into 3 acts, but instead of a new song with each batch of words, the words are put into a new "verse" of the same song. At the end of the DVD, Rachel sings the entire song with all of the verses. For me, I don't like this as much. The song becomes extremely repetitive. While I really enjoyed a lot of the songs from "series 1" (and therefore bought the CDs), I have yet to want to hear any of the "series 2" songs outside of watching the DVD.

All of that being said, I love Signing Time. There is simply no other series out there like it. As of the writing of this review, there are now 20 volumes between series 1 and 2 (plus 2 other practice DVDs) which provides and immense amount of signs. My two kids have learned so much from this series that there isn't enough room for me to write about it here. Even though Series 2 isn't all that I had hoped it would be, Signing Time is still - hands down - the best signing series out there."

Fabulous series for the whole family!

B. Corbett | New England | 10/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love this series! This volume in particular, Nice To Meet You, was lots of fun to watch. I'm a junior in college and have taken two years of American Sign Language. I learned signs in this volume that weren't taught until my second year of ASL! My boyfriend's 7 year old brother had a great time singing and dancing along with Rachel and the rest of the gang. His favorite part was the ABC song. I'd recommend this series to any other college student or family who is interested in learning American Sign Language! We love Signing Time!"