I over-heard some moms talking about teaching their child to write his/her name before a screening test and I couldn’t help but give an idea for this. If your child is capable of writing their first name, you can also do this same activity with their middle/last name, OR with simple words like sight words your child’s grade level may require that they learn.
In earlier posts I have tracing activities for children to practice writing their names, but this activity is a simple way to jog their memory recall and order their thinking.
1. I want you to search your house for some magnetic letters, foam bath letters, puzzle piece letters, or any loose alphabet pieces you can find.
*If you don’t have any letters or enough to make up their name, you can type their name in large font, print it onto cardstock (so it will be sturdy), and cut it apart.
2. Invite your child to play a game with their name!
3. Write the child’s name on a sheet of paper and go with the letters in front of you ask your child to name and find each letter and put it aside. (This step can be skipped if you had to print your child’s name from your computer).
3. Place these letters (the letters that make up your child’s name) into a brown bag or a small container. Shake it up to mix all the letters (lor shuffle them by throwing them in the air and flipping them over wherever they land).
4. Show your child how to put their name (or whatever word you choose) in order.
5. Put the letters back in the bag, shake again and this time put the letters in order WITH your child.
6. Finally, repeat but allow your child to attempt this on their own.
****Another activity extension is to place ALL the letters in a bag to shuffle and place the letters in ABC order.
Below is an example of the name and sight word letter order activity. I used post it notes and a black marker.
And don’t forget to make learning fun!
