The six animals
Three animals need one hand, three need two. Each one has a clear correct shape, a shadow drawing to aim for, and a hand diagram showing exactly where every finger goes.
- Dog (one hand): four fingers up and pressed together for the head and snout, thumb straight up for the ear.
- Rabbit (one hand): index and middle fingers up and spread for the ears, ring finger and pinky folded, thumb tucked in.
- Snail (one hand): a neat fist for the shell, thumb folded across the front.
- Bird (two hands): two flat hands side by side, thumbs touching in the middle to make the beak.
- Deer (two hands): each hand in the rabbit shape for antlers, hands held apart.
- Crocodile (two hands): two flat hands, one above the other with a gap, thumbs folded: the open jaws.
For the two-hand animals, keep both hands in view with all key fingers showing, and do not let one hand hide the other. If the camera loses a hand, the check waits.
How the live check works
The app runs a small hand-tracking model entirely in your browser. For each animal it checks which fingers are straight, bent or touching, and, for the two-hand animals, how the hands sit together: side by side for the bird and deer, stacked with a gap for the crocodile, thumbs touching for the bird's beak. Hold the shape steady for about a second to score. Every animal's rule was checked so that each animal's shape passes its own rule and is rejected by the other five. If your shadow on the wall looks like the animal, you did it, even if the camera disagrees: lighting and camera angle can confuse the checker.
Setting up: lamp, wall, hands
You need a lamp and a blank wall. Put the lamp behind your hands, a short distance from the wall, so your hands cast a big, sharp shadow. The sharper the shadow, the easier the animals are to see. Grown-ups: keep lamps out of reach of hot bulbs, and supervise young children with the camera. A phone or tablet on a stand works well as the camera, with the wall beside it.
Story mode: help the rabbit find the deer
Story mode follows one little adventure across six chapters. The rabbit is lost in the garden. The dog shows the path, the bird flies ahead, the rabbit hops out of hiding, the snail knows every path, the crocodile lets the rabbit cross the river, and the deer waits in the meadow. Finish all six chapters to earn the Story Finisher badge.
Quiz, points, levels and badges
Quiz mode asks for six animals in a random order: +10 points per shadow, +20 bonus for a perfect round. Levels run Shadow Pup, Shadow Keeper, Shadow Star, and Master of Shadows. Badges cover the first shadow, trying all six animals, a perfect quiz round, finishing the story, and practising on seven days in a row. Confetti and chimes celebrate wins, and both can be turned off in Settings. Practice stays the core: the games are there to pull kids back for one more animal.
Your video never leaves your device
Camera frames are analysed on your device and discarded. The page security policy blocks connections to every outside server. There is no account, no analytics, no recording, and no cookie. The built-in Offline proof panel shows a live log of every network request the page makes, lets you simulate a fully offline session, shows exactly what is stored on your device, and deletes it all with one button. The app works offline after your first visit.
If your children are younger, Little Hands teaches baby sign language with the same private, on-device camera feedback. For older kids learning the ASL alphabet, try Fingerspell.
This is a home practice tool, not a teacher, therapist or safety device. Everything runs on your device: no video, audio or images are sent anywhere. Feedback is automatic and can be wrong. For real instruction, learn from shadow puppetry performers and books, linked on the Resources page.