Baby's First Impressions is a video series aimed at babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Designed to teach youngsters basic concepts like the alphabet, colors, shapes, and more, each video is devoted to a specific early learning subject. We took a look at 4 of the videos in the series, and were very pleased with what we saw.
The videos are available individually and also in the form of a video encyclopedia. Each video is 32 minutes long and employs "reality-based learning" — real children, real objects, and no cartoons or puppets. The philosophy behind this program format is simple — the producers of these videos wanted to present important learning concepts without the distractions and glamor that is characteristic of many character-based entertainment videos. The truth of the matter is that babies and toddlers are thrilled to watch real kids and to see familiar objects on the screen. With research on early brain development in mind, this video series was conceived by an early childhood development expert.
In Opposites, kids learn all sorts of early vocabulary through the important concept of opposites, such as come/go, boy/girl, right/left, fast/slow, etc. Many of the scenes are whimsical, such as a boy walking in over-sized boots forward, then back. A number of objects are used to illustrate each concept. For example, to illustrate right side up/upside down, they use a teddy bear, a couple of children, and more. The narrators speak much as parents would speak to their babies and toddlers. For example, they say "straight.....straight train track".
In Colors, kids are introduced to colors one by one. Be sure to adjust your set to match the colors given at the outset of the video or you might have a rather confused baby or toddler (purple can look like blue, orange like red, etc.). For the color yellow, there is an image of a spilled paint can of yellow paint, a duck, etc. At the end of the "yellow" video, there's a close up of a wall being painted yellow until yellow fills the screen. After the "lessons" kids are asked things like "can you find the yellow?". Scenes are of kids playing and after a short time an arrow appears on screen to point out the yellow shirt of a child, etc.
In Shapes, kids learn all about simple shapes by identifying them in everyday objects. The narrator may ask "do you see the circle?" and, after an appropriate pause, the circle of a flower center, for example, is outlined. Other things to illustrate a circle include a ball, and a circle made out of playdough.
In Letters, kids hold foam letters of the alphabet in their hands. They hold up each letter of the alphabet, and show various objects that start with that letter. Children really respond to the kids on the screen, and more easily learn to identify the letters of the alphabet.
The accompanying pamphlets point out the importance of using these tapes as a starting point for learning. The music, although not hugely interesting, is quite mild and not difficult to listen to.
This video series is very well done and succeeds well at what it set out to do. The narration is clear and straightforward, the concepts are presented wonderfully, and the content is engaging. Its emphasis on children interacting with the video is important and responsible.
Other titles available are Numbers, Animals, Sounds, Seasons, Head to Toe, Food Fun.
