1. Learn the Letters in Your Child's Name
A child’s name is the easiest place to start. They hear it every day, so the letters already matter.
You do not have to begin with a pencil. First let your child move the letters and put the name in order.
What you need:
One small name card with the name written correctly
Separate letter cards for only those letters
A small zip-top bag
Write the name on an index card. As soon as your child starts recognizing the name, put that card away and let them build it from memory.
Keep capital and lowercase letters available. A name is one capital letter, then lowercase letters.
Daily practice (about 5 minutes)
Show the name card and say, “This is how we write your name.”
Spread the letter cards on the table.
Say, “Let’s make your name.”
Have your child put the letters in order, left to right.
Point to each letter and say its name together.
Cheer the spelling: “A-S-H-L-E-Y!” then say the whole name. ( like a cheerleader)
Do that twice.
Mix the letters and build the name one more time.
Put the letters back in the bag for tomorrow.
When choosing letters always choose letters that have both capitals & lowercase letters
How to store the cards
These are letter you can find at a teacher supply store or Amazon. They are nice because the child can feel the shape of the letters
Letter Cards
Use any letters you have. These cards are useful because:
Yellow = vowels, blue = consonants
Capital on one side, lowercase on the other
Easy to pull only the letters in your child’s name for the daily name puzzle
Print on cardstock and they will last for years, use for names puzzles, word building, make a word, and many other word activities.
From Reading Their Name... to Writing Their Name
When your child can easily recognize and build the letters in their name independently, the next step is introducing them to writing their name, hopefully by now you have also started to introduce the rest of the abc’s and the letters in their name will become familiar friends.