A child’s name is their favorite word. There are many fun ways to encourage young students to start spelling their names without using a worksheet. Here are 10 ways for children to practice spelling their names.
1. Name Puzzles
Write the child’s name on a piece of cardstock. Cut the letters apart. The student puts the puzzle together.
2. Sentence Strip Matching
Program sentence strips with each child’s name. Then write the corresponding letters (or use letter stickers) on seasonal shapes. The students match the shapes to the correct letter on the sentence strip.
Star and basic shapes work well any time of year.
3. In My Name vs. Not in My Name
Print a sorting mat and provide a bowl of letter manipulatives. These could be letter tiles, stickers, or die-cut letters. Provide the students with a name card. To complete the center, the student chooses a letter from the bowl and then uses the name card to decide if it is a letter “In My Name” or “Not in My Name.”
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Editable Name Practice *Set 1
$6.00These EDITABLE NAME PRACTICE pages will save you TONS of TIME! Our youngest students need lots of practice writing their names. But, it takes time to make individual worksheets. Not anymore! Just type your class list into the editable form, and the worksheets will automatically fill in each child’s name. Print and go!
This set includes 9 different worksheets so that you can customize and differentiate the practice that your children need.
4. Letter Beads
Learning Resources has a great set of letter beads that the students use to make name necklaces. Another option is to add letter stickers to regular wooden beads.
5. Light Table Names
Light tables are very versatile and can be used to practice many skills, including helping students practice spelling their names. Print each child’s name and picture on paper or a transparency sheet to make this center. Students choose a name, then use transparent plastic letter tiles to spell it out.
6. Name Pockets
Fold a piece of cardstock in half. Use a long-armed stapler to section off the correct number of pockets. Write the letters of the child’s name on the pockets and the craft sticks. Put uppercase letters on one side of the stick and lower case on the other, to help children make a connection between the two. Complete Name Pocket instructions HERE!
7. Clothespin Dinosaurs
Print each child’s name on a dinosaur shape. Add a photo for younger students and mat onto cardstock or foam for durability. Students use their fine motor skills to match clothespins to each letter on the dinosaur.
8. Clothespin Folders
Use clothespins to help children to spell their names. Write the child’s first name on the front and the last name on the inside. Students pinch clothespins to match the letters of their names. Get more name ideas HERE.
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9. Name cubes
Make a set of cubes with the letters of each child’s name. Store the cubes in a baggie labeled with the child’s name. Children connect the cubes to spell their name. (Note that the children will naturally build their cube tower from the “bottom-up,” so put the initial letter on the “bottom” cube.)
10. Letter Stamps
Letter stamps are a guaranteed crowd pleaser! Children can use their handy name card as a reference while they stamp their names on paper.
Name activities are always a hit because, for most young children, their name is their favorite and most important word. When the entire class is working on name activities, they begin to learn the letters of all friends in the class. It is a great springboard for alphabet knowledge! The name cards are from these Name Songs for Circle Time:
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*Name Songs for Circle Time – Editable
$12.00These Name Songs for Circle Time will save you TONS of TIME! Just enter your class list once, then print 18 fun, interactive songs that you can use during circle time with your preschoolers or young learners.
Circle Time is the perfect opportunity to let young children (preschool, pre-k, kindergarten, special ed) practice their names. This set includes 18 Name Songs, complete with personalized cards for each student. Use the Name Songs for Circle Time to work on name identification, rhyming, letters, letter sounds, syllables, and name spelling. Teach a new song every 3-4 weeks to give the students time to learn it, but also to keep it fun and fresh.
Don’t waste time planning a new song and preparing the cards for each month. Just type your class list once, print the songs and name cards for the whole year, and be done in 5 minutes!
This set includes 18 NAME SONGS so that you can choose the practice that your children need.
Wonderful ideas! I'm going to try these with my little one. Clothes pins have some many uses!! Thanks for sharing!
I just saw this on Pinterest and I love these ideas. I would love for you to share them with my readers via my Littles Learning Link Up.
Here is the link for this week's post. I hope you have a chance to stop by
http://totsandme.blogspot.com/2015/06/littles-learning-link-up-guest-post-how.html
Where did the colored letter tiles come from in the magnet center for spelling name? Thanks for all the great ideas!
love the peg idea simple and cheap!
Thank you for the great ideas, love the letters in my name worksheet, very simple idea but useful for learning how to spell your name!
You have some wonderful ideas for teaching kids to spell their names. I really like the addition of the clothespins, fine motor practice to strengthen those fingers! I notice you have them matching their names from capital to Lowercase. Curious to know when you do that in the year and if you encorage them to write lowercase.