Teach your little one another mode of communication, American Sign Language (ASL), in The Handmade Alphabet. Each page shows one letter of the alphabet, written and signed, accompanied by an object that also begins with that letter. For example, "A" is a hand signing "a" while also clasping asparagus. The hands are drawn and painted to look very realistic, and appear to belong to men, women, and children of all ages. The focus of the book is on teaching American Sign Language, so there are solid backgrounds and no written words to distract from the signing hand (a key is on the final page, however, if you are not sure what object is being depicted). The objects along with the hand sign can be a very helpful learning tool, as they provide readers with a memory aid.
This is certainly an interactive book, so encourage your child to imitate the hands on each page, and be sure to put the book down frequently to try yourself. When signing each letter, be sure to name it aloud for reinforcement. You can invent many games with your little one to help learn the ASL signs; one of you can name the letter while the other signs, you can practice making short words and having the other spell it out, or you can think of your own word/object associations to help you remember each sign. Your child may be curious why a specific hand motion or contortion was selected to represent a letter, who uses these signs on a regular basis, or they may begin asking about what it really means to be deaf.
My friend, Nick, said his preschool class read this book together and spent a few days learning how to sign their names and some simpler words like 'water', 'more', 'please', and 'thank you'. Nick taught me the words he knew, and I showed him a few more that I have learned over the years, 'I love you', 'beautiful', 'baby', 'friend', 'boy' and 'girl'. We spent about half an hour practicing our signs, and it was so much fun to see Nick so interested. It inspired me to learn more signs on my own, so I could continue showing him new ones the next time we read the book.
--Audra
