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One of the bedtime rituals I cherished the most during my son’s toddler years was our nightly visit out the front door to star gaze. We would point to each star we could find, and he would solemnly repeat one of his first words: “stah.” I reaped the added benefit of being able to hold his pajama-clad body close to mine and smell his freshly shampooed hair as we looked at the night-time sky. We searched with equal enthusiasm for the moon – and any stars in motion that we realized were actually airplanes, another of my toddler’s fascinations.
To perform the ASL sign for STAR, simply rub your pointer fingers together as you point them up "in the sky.” Your child may lift her hands and wiggle her fingers over her head or tap her pointer fingers together. It isn’t necessary for her to perform the sign perfectly. Look for her best try and praise her efforts: “You see a star in the sky. I do, too! Thank you for telling me with your hands!”
Star-gazing with your baby or toddler is a great way for you to enjoy each other as you build her vocabulary and show her how to observe the wonder of the world around her. Here are a few ideas for extending the fun and learning:
Young children master two separate meanings for “star” – the bright light in the night-time sky and the shape they will learn to recognize in preschool. Incorporate both as you teach the sign for STAR
Snuggle with pillows and blankets on your patio, deck or yard on a cloudless night. Look up at the sky and point to the stars in the sky. Aim a flashlight beam at the stars up in the sky. Sing and sign, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as you star gaze. Sign the word STAR whenever it occurs in the lyrics. You don’t need to sign all of the words in this song. STAR is the key signed vocabulary word you want your child to perform, so simply sign STAR as it occurs in the song lyric.
Enjoy lots of easy craft and play activities that incorporate the star shape. Use a star cookie cutter to shape a cheese or apple slice for your child. Purchase a star-shaped sponge or create one with scissors and a kitchen sponge; help your child use the sponge to dip in tempera paint and blot on paper.
Read a book about stars together, and sign the word STAR whenever it occurs in the text. Ask your child to point to all the stars she sees on the page just as she does when she sees stars in the sky. My favorite book about stars is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Iza Trapani.
Photography by Amy Martin Images. Model: Amreen Sauji, Oak Hill Elementary School.
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