We wrote a series of six coloring books based on open syllable animal names to give parents a context for creating an open syllable sound stream for their infant or toddler.
Gesture words are the first words babies recognize and respond to with a gesture, such as turning their head towards or pointing to mommy. The gesture words are displayed on placemats where the words are deconstructed into open syllables sounds. These are the sounds the baby is actively learning by listening to their caregiver’s speech.
These books help caregivers model and support the open syllable sounds of the first words. Researchers find that babies start to say these words between 12 and 16 months.