When I count on my fingers, I count in fingerspelling. This is a neat trick sometimes, because when I say, “I can count on one hand the number of times / people / etc.,” I really can. And I could mean anything from 1 to 1,000 and nobody knows.

Counting in fingerspelling also comes in handy (ahem, sorry) when you’re doing the One Potato action rhyme. (Scroll down to “Counting Fingerplay,” or see a video.) Especially when you count to 10 at the end and yell, “French fries!” Signing the numbers as you count, hold your arm over your head and shiver your fingers when you get to the fries. Not only does the motion resemble French fries, it’s also one handed Deaf applause.

Cool, huh? (Except now I have a craving for French fries. Good thing we have cookbooks.)

If you’re interested in signing, check out Miss Kathy’s ASL Storytime. We also have ASL DVDs and Signed English stories. (Signed English is not ASL; it uses English syntax, includes articles and prepositions, and sometimes has different signs.)

Related reading: Isaac Millman’s Moses series. Text and signed illustrations tell about students at a Deaf school.