So Smart - Triplets (3 Pak With Sights & Sounds/Shapes/Letters) [VHS]

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About So Smart - Triplets

Amazon.com This is a boxed set that contains the three volumes of the So Smart series:So Smart The first of a three-volume set, So Smart is one of the many tapes created to stimulate a baby's mind (ages 3 months to 3 years). Unlike the Baby Mozart approach, So Smart is more clinical. The video contains flat, simple animation of colors, shapes, and contrasting images (volumes 2 and 3 focus on letters and numbers). Geometric shapes transform into images of the real world with traditional recordings of Bach and Beethoven on the soundtrack. The tape box states that the "Brainy Benefits" of this approach lead to a child's increased ability to identify objects, soak up new information, and develop memory. A bunch of research backs up this prognosis, but it needs to be field-tested for you and your baby to see the benefits. --Doug ThomasSo Smart: All About Shapes This is one of those blessed videos for babies, toddlers, and children that wholly entertains the youngsters, but is mercifully easy upon repetition (which it was indeed designed for) for parents and caregivers. So Smart! A Learning Video for Babies is just that. With an emphasis on moving, familiar shapes that evolve into perfect first-word, first-identified objects, a child will comprehend and learn. The soundtrack features beautifully produced classical music. The first segment, in which Cecil the Circle morphs into various objects including the porthole of a boat, the bubbles of a fish, and a clock, is set to music adults will recognize as the Masterpiece Theater theme. Part 2 centers on Suzie the Square as she turns into parts of a house, train, and truck. In Part 3, Traci the Triangle turns into boat sails, a mountain range, and more. It's more than appropriate, with initial viewings, for adults to watch closely with their children, pointing out what the letters and words (appropriately remedial) say and mean, and their relationship to the images. After the inevitable repeated viewings, then it might be effective to have the young viewer identify shapes and objects themselves. With Handel and Tchaikovsky providing the soundtrack, parents won't mind having this video in the foreground or background. --N.F. MendozaSo Smart: All About Letters Parent participation is a must for this wordless video, which plays notable pieces by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and other composers while presenting the alphabet one letter at a time. Designed for babies beginning at 9 months up through pre-reading 4-year-olds, this tape adopts a slow pace, starting with the drawing of each letter, forming a single image to go with it and spelling out that word. What separates this tape from other alphabet education materials is that it sometimes chooses verbs and then demonstrates them. For instance, the J begins jumping and the R runs. The simple images will attract babies, and the calm, single-word-per-letter approach will help toddlers focus, rather than be bombarded by too many images. Parents can fill in the rest when necessary. --Kimberly Heinrichs