Even though Gracen has known how to spell her name for a long while now, we still enjoying doing fun name activities every now and then. I set up today’s activity while Miss G was resting, and kept it very simple. 3 trays, each with some play dough and some letter ‘manipulatives’ I collected from around the house. When Grae woke up, she spotted the play dough name practice trays waiting for her immediately and was eager to check them out.
It may sound sort of strange seeing as I spent 7 years teaching kindergarten and grade one before Miss G was born, but very rarely do I sit down with Gracen with the intention of teaching her something specific. At 2 and 3/4 years old, I truly believe that she does all of the learning she needs {for now} through playing, going on adventures, and reading books. The exception to this is when Grae takes the lead… In that case, I’m more than happy to follow along.
Recently, she’s become very interested in “drawing words”. It started off with random words like ‘swing’ and ‘tall’, and then it became focused solely on her name. There’s been a whole lot of ‘How do you draw my name again, Mama?’ and ‘Mama, can we play another name game today?’ this past week, so that’s just what we’ve been doing… Exploring her name in fun, hands-on ways. All of these simple activities are things I’ve done with my students in the past and Grae has thoroughly enjoyed each one.
Stamping – We are lucky to have alphabet stamps, but you can easily make your own by adhering foam letter stickers onto cork tops or bottle caps. Right now, I set out only the letters needed for her name {along with a piece of paper and stamp pad}, but to make the activity a little more challenging, you can include extra stamps too.
Magnetic Letters – I particularly like these wooden ones by Melissa & Doug, especially because the set includes both upper and lowercase letters, but any sort of alphabet magnets will do (you can even make some using scrabble tiles or foam letters). I simply set out the required letters in a bowl next to a magnetic board, and let Miss G play.
Computer Typing – This activity is extra special in our house since we really don’t let Gracen use our computers yet. I simply open up a blank word document, select a good clear font, make it nice and big, and let Miss G choose the colour. Then she goes ahead and searches out each letter on the keyboard. Today as she was about to hit the ‘G’, she asked, “But Mama, is this going to be a capital G? Because my name needs a capital G.’ After getting over my surprise, I taught her how to use the shift key and that was that.
Felt Board Name Game – Since my days in elementary school, I’ve always loved felt boards and felt board games. Though you can purchase pre-made felt boards and felt alphabet pieces online, you can very easily and inexpensively make your own. Here is my felt board tutorial and my felt name game tutorial {along with a collection of my very favourite fonts}.
Duplo / Lego Stacking – Depending on the size of your collection, you may want to write the letters of your child’s name straight onto your Lego or Duplo to create a permanent and lasting game. Or, if you’re like us, you can print the letters on sticker dots or labels and then attach them to the pieces. This activity is always a huge hit and I especially like it because it can be done both horizontally and vertically.
Salt Printing – This one is one of my absolute favourite ways to have kids practice their printing. In the classroom, I always keep a stack of colourful plastic plates filled with a layer of salt for practicing printing. The students use their finger as a pencil, then simply give the plate a little shake to erase the letter and practice again. In this case, I used a rectangular serving tray and provided Gracen with an example of her name on card stock in front of her. (P.S. How amazing is that bed head?!)
Chalkboard Water Painting – If asked, I have a feeling that Gracen may say this is her favourite name game to date. To set it up, simply print the name on a chalkboard (using chalk of course), and give your wee one a paintbrush and some water to paint on top of the lines. As he or she paints the letters, they will ‘disappear’, which is always fun!
Highlighter Tracing – This is probably the simplest of the bunch. I print Gracen’s name and she traces over it using a darker marker or pencil. We pretend the highlighter lines are the road (or racetrack) and the marker is the car, and of course you want to keep your car on the road!
Letter boxes – While I prefer to teach beginners how to print their names on plain, unlined paper, some munchkins, Miss G included, enjoy having a little more structure than that. Creating two sets of boxes, your sample letters on top and blank ones directly below, gives many the ability to focus on one letter at a time with the goal of filling up all of the boxes by the end.
So that’s that! Gracen’s been enjoying these name activities so much that we’ve done almost all of them multiple times. I know I’ll be asked for new ones in the very near future, so as of now, I’ve got ideas that use spaghetti, clothespins, rocks, cookie cutters, beads, blocks, and bean bags ready to go, but beyond that, I may have to get Googling. ☺
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One of Grae’s favourite quiet indoor activities is playing with her felt board. It’s a good thing, because I love making new felt board games for her just as much as she loves playing with them. This is a super simple “game” that takes no time and very little skill to make, and is perfect for munchkins who are interested in letters or ready to begin learning to spell their names.
But before I begin, a few questions I’ve been asked about felt boards recently…
Where can I buy a felt board?
You can buy them at almost any teaching supply store (and even some toy stores that carry educational games), but it is very, VERY simple to create one on your own using a large sheet of felt (purchased at a craft or fabric store), a frame with with glass removed, and some glue. Making your own also means that you get to choose your size, felt colour, and frame colour, plus it’s a really inexpensive project – win! Here is a simple tutorial on how I made Miss G’s.
Dumb question, but do the felt pieces just stick onto the felt board without glue or velcro or anything else?
Yes! The beauty of a felt board is that felt sticks to felt, making felt board games good for hours of interactive fun. No glue, tape, or velcro needed. ☺
What kind of felt do you use for your projects? Is the cheap stuff found at dollar stores okay?
For felt board games, the inexpensive stuff made of recycled bottles is perfect. It costs about 30 cents per sheet, comes in tons of different colours, and can be purchased from dollar stores and craft stores.
Do you cut out every shape freehand or do you have a website where you print out shapes to trace onto the felt for cutting?
To be honest, I cut out many of the shapes freehand just because for me, it’s easier than finding a template online, printing it off, and using it as a cutting guideline. That being said, if I’m creating something more complex, I sometimes draw on the backside of the felt (the slightly shinier side) with chalk (it’s easy to wipe off afterwards) before cutting. For letters, I always print them off using a word processing program first and use them as a guide (as I did for the name game below) because I find them trickier. If you’re not a super drawer/cutter, you can always use Google images, search for your desired shapes, print them off, and use them to make the cutting process easier.
Okay, so here’s how I made Grae’s new name game…
First off, I gathered the materials… Some felt, straight pins, scissors (smaller sharp ones work best for felt), and the letters of her name printed in 300 point Illuminate font. (See some of my other favourite fonts below.)
Next, I quickly cut out around the letters, getting rid of the extra paper.
With the letters prepared, I pinned them onto my felt pieces using a single pin per letter. (Pinning right on the letter as seen in the case of the ‘r’ and the ‘e’ makes life easier… do it that way instead of pinning in the centres of the letters.)
Next, using my small, sharp scissors, I cut the letters out, cutting through both the paper and the felt at once.
The last step involves taking the pins out and removing the paper.
Voila! Easy felt letters. Now it’s time to play.
Depending on the age and interest level of your child, you could add in the letters for their middle and last names, or cut out all of the letters of the alphabet, allowing them to experiment with making other words too.
To see more easy to make at home felt board activities, click here.
Another thing I’ve been asked about a lot lately is about the fonts I use regularly here on Mama.Papa.Bubba., so I’ve put together a little collection of some of my current favourites, including Illuminate, the one I used for this project. All of them are free and Mac-friendly. Simply click on the links below to download them.
arsenale white // HEAVY WEIGHT
MARKUS INK // RETURN TO SENDER
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