Teaching the Alphabet and Spelling in Sign Language

I began teaching my daughter the alphabet when she was around one year old. I purchased sponge bath letters for her to play with (chew on). I also posted the letters with pictures on the wall. We would walk down the long line of letters and say/sign the letter and say/sign the illustration. A - apple, B - ball, etc. In retrospect, I would have taught her the letter sounds rather than the names to begin with, but...that's another post.

Bath time has always been a big signing/alphabet time for us. Recently, I was inspired to start writing letters/words on my daughters belly while she is in the tub. She is a little over two and a half. She loves it and tells me what to write. Sometimes I fingerspell it and then write it, and vice versa. She'll try writing letters on her belly, too. It's great, because even if the letter isn't perfect and is squiggly and messy, we'll never know, because you can't see it! So, she can practice the motion and develop more control without any "help" from me. "Hmmm...that's a T? Why don't you draw a straight stick then a horizontal stick, like this?" See, it's much more fun this way.

The other day, I was sweeping the floor outside the bathroom door when I heard her spelling. I peaked in and she was drawing letters on her belly while saying the letters. And the letters were perfect...I think.