One of the easiest ways that kids and adults connect with each other is through the use of our names and there are lots of great fun activities to help kids learn their name. Considering the number of items that are labelled with kids’ names, learning names is a big part of preschool, daycare, and kindergarten readiness. Coats, sweaters, lunch kits, shoes, and backpacks will all need names, plus at care centers and classrooms there are cubbies, mail boxes, books, lists, and charts. It’s no wonder that names are usually the first word that kids can read.
Not all kids will be interested in learning what their name looks like on paper. But it’s fun to see a name baking in the oven with bread dough or drizzled with ketchup on a plate for dipping french fries. Nor will all kids be keen to learn to print their names. But do kids say no to chocolate pudding? Adult hands can spread a spoon or two of pudding on a plate, print the first letter of a child’s name, and then lick the chocolate off the finger. Kids will try printing that letter for the yummy chocolate taste too.
While it’s not for eating, kids can roll out the letters of their name with playdough. Chalk letters can be written giant-size on the driveway. Sticks make good pencils for writing in the mud. Grownups can print big letters on a page and kids can paint over them with dabbers. Soap crayons (that wash off) are fun for printing names on the bathtub. Kids can cut letters out from flyers or magazines and glue the letters in their names.These are just a few fun activities for helping kids learn to recognize and write their names. What other ones can you suggest?