More than a year after we started Sasha watching the “Baby Signing Time” series of DVDs, she’s had enough. Now, every evening when we turn the TV on to watch Rachel de Azevedo Coleman and her animated friends Alex, Leah and Hopkins (the Frog), Sasha freaks out. Sometimes we think it’s because, from volumes 2 to 3, Rachel goes from being humanly round to scarily thin. Other times we think Sasha’s bored—she’s learned all she can from the videos, which is quite a lot. She signs constantly, and signs as she speaks, to make her meaning clearer. But at this point, she’s gone as far as she can go.
Which means we’re now looking for a new video series to start her on. Ideally, since we’re ambivalent about her watching TV at all, we’d like it to be educational. But, of course, not so educational that it’s unwatchable for the rest of us (and Sasha herself). Songs are important—the repetition really drives lessons home. And I guess it should be age-appropriate, too: She’s 20 months old, and I’ve noticed some preschool-oriented shows are still too sophisticated for her.
So, any suggestions? I mean, besides turning the TV off and, like, actually engaging with her. Cuz God knows I’m not gonna do that!