LR center allows all kids to play, learn

Barbara McCreight tucked her thumb into her palm and raised all four fingers on her right hand, the American Sign Language letter B.

“Blue!” cried 6-year-old Cooper Green, pointing to the blue plastic circle McCreight had placed on the floor of Gigi’s Playhouse, an education and social learning skills center in west Little Rock for children with Down syndrome.

On Saturday, a handful of children and their parents attended Gigi’s “LMNOP” (Language, Music N Our Peeps) program, which aids in developing rudimentary sign language skills for children and their parents. McCreight, a retired special-education teacher

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/THOMAS METTHE Lena Pearce plays Saturday with her 11-month-old son, Charlie, Saturday at Gigi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center in Little Rock. More photos at www.arkansasonline.com/1123gigis/