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Get your child excited about writing with 35 fun name activities for preschoolers that are perfect for that 3-5 year old range to work on recognition and smobilepelling!
What’s cool about almost every single name activity is that it can also be applies to any word which makes them great for spelling word activities as well.
Last year in three-year-old preschool, names were a big deal. So I can only suppose they will be again this year in four-year-old preschool.
Henry learned to recognize his name pretty early on.
At first, he thought any word that started with (or even had) an H meant it was his name. But he soon learned that there was more to it than that.
Throughout the year they worked on name recognition and spelling. By the end of last year, Henry was able to spell his first name (and write it!!).
He even was able to spell it backward, which shocked me!
Now, it’s onto our last name… which for some reason seems daunting to me.
35 Fun Name Activities Perfect For Preschoolers
But with some help of these activities I found, it should come fast enough. Just applying it to our last name instead of his first!
Have some fun with your kids learning to recognize their very own name (it’s very special to them, make it be a special thing!) and then learn to spell it too! They’ll be so proud and you’ll be one proud parent!
Here are 35 name activities for preschoolers learn to recognize and spell their name!
In case you missed earlier this week, we covered the ABCs and Numbers!
Preschooler Name Recognition Activities
Put their name up everywhere. Label everything of theirs with their name. Use their name in your activities.
Have fun with it!
- Squirt their name! Create a fizzing reaction using baking soda sidewalk paint and vinegar!
- Write their name first and have them trace it with pipe cleaners in an activity from Parents.com!
- Use candles to write their name, with an idea from Fairy Dust Teaching Kindergarten, and watch as the magic happens when they paint over it with watercolors!
- Make homemade playing cards with photos and names of your family, just like Teach Mama.
- Similarly, Busy Kids = Happy Mom creates a “Who Am I” book to label important people (and your child!) with their names.
- Create a pom pom name craft, like Learning 4 Kids.
- Write out their name with food. Play Dr. Mom uses “ants on a log.“
- Use these color by number name printables from Royal Baloo to have your child color their name!
- Try a sensory bin letter hunt, from Fun Learning for Kids, to recognize letters that are in their name.
- Spell your child’s name, then compare how long it is to other names, with an idea from One Sharp Bunch based on the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.
- Teach Preschool shows how to collage their name with paper scraps onto their prewritten name. Display this name recognition activity on their door!
- Write their name in glue and color over them to make prints, like Excellence in Early Childhood Education!
- Make your own DIY name recognition kit with this activity idea from Fun-A-Day.
- Use clothespins to make a simple name recognition matching game, from School Time Snippets.
Spell-Your-Name Activities
Once they can recognize their name easily, spelling it in an activity comes easily too.
If they’ve seen their name written out a million times, they’re likely to remember how it looks and what order it comes in.
These name activities are wonderful for preschoolers to start learning how to spell their name.
- Use the computer and have them type their name using the keyboard.
- String up letters in their name around the room and have them go on a hunt!
- The Imagination Tree spells out names using play dough letter impressions. Here are my favorite tips on how to make homemade play dough.
- Rainy Day Mum bakes and spells their name with letter shaped cookies!
- Make name rockets like Ms. Solano’s Kindergarten!
- Tip Junkie uses a paint stick and clothespins with letters of their name.
- The Busy Toddler likes to use Post-it Notes for a fun name spelling activity!
- Make necklaces with letter beads like the Little Giraffes!
- Make a name cube, roll it and spell your name with a game from Toddler Approved.
- Unscramble the letters to spell your name, as seen on Kids Activities Blog.
- Hunt for letters of their name on a walk with an idea from NurtureStore.
- Label rocks with letters of their name and use it to spell, just like Time for Play.
- Fish for letters of their name, like Fun Learning for Kids, and spell it out!
- Frugal Fun 4 Boys & Girls like to stamp their names with paint.
- Create a name mobile, as seen on Crayola! Stamp or print the letters and have your child string them up in order!
- Shoot for the letters of your name in order with a cork! Some archery fun from Toddler Approved.
- Make your own customized handwriting worksheets on HandWritingWorksheets.com.
- Happy Hooligans makes these easy name puzzles for your child to put together!
- Having Fun At Home uses ABC blocks to spell their name in this activity. Though there’s usually a catch if you have a name with more than two of the same letter.
- Teach Mama likes to use letter magnets to spell their names!
- Learn to spell their name while making a rainbow!
Not quite to learning their name yet?
Letter learning activities should comes first.
Start with our 20+ letter learning activities that are perfect for preschoolers!
