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What's In a Name? Fun Name Activities to Do With Your Child Written by Jeanine DeHoney
Our names give us familiarity and help us connect to other people. The names we bestow on our children and grandchildren often have a special meaning according to its origin, some biblical, some that honor a family member and are used over and over again in each generation. Often as parents, after our preschooler learns to recognize or write his or her name, we stop thinking of creative ways to integrate name activities in his or her life. But there are a myriad of wonderful things we can do with our child’s name, activities that are educational to zany that can help your child know exactly, “What’s In a Name?”
Keep scrap paper, markers, crayons and pencils in little plastic bins around the house for your child to always have opportunities to practice writing his name on paper throughout the day. Let your child “check-out his or her favorite storybook or toy from his or her toy chest by writing his or her name.
Tell your child why his or her name is so special. For example, “Your middle name is Timothy and you were named after your uncle Timothy who is in the armed forces. We are so proud of him and that is why we named you after him.”
Cut out your child’s initials from a large kitchen sponge and dip them on an ink pad or in tempura paint so that he or she can monogram their own stationary, a t-shirt, a placemat, or newsprint paper to use as gift-wrap when the holidays arrive.
Syllables are the building blocks of words. Teach your child about syllables by letting him or her bang out the beats of their name on a toy drum or by patting “their human beat box,” legs, hands, and they’ll especially love this one, stomach.
Create a name game to say with your child such as “Clap your name, tap your name, dance your name, skip your name, or backwards walk your name.
For school age children play silly rhyming games with their name at the dinner table or during long car rides. For the name Sarah a silly riddle would be “Sarah looked in her mirror and her hair scared her.” The more outlandish the rhyming word the more laughs all around.
Name a day of the week a letter in your child’s name and on that day do a special activity or plan a special trip related to that letter. For example, Name Monday the letter A in April’s name and on Monday you are going to the supermarket to buy apples to make apple pie.
Order personalized books for your child where he or she is the star. Two great sites to order books from are Created4 Me at www.created4me.com and I See Me! Inc. www.ISeeMe.com.
If you’re feeling very creative make your own personalized book for your child, take pictures with your child holding different props you both can make and write a caption under each one.
Make your own unique healthy snack or granola using one or more of the letters in your child’s name. Example, Reese’s name starts with the letter R, so add Raisins to a bag of sunflower seeds for a healthy snack. Some letters may be difficult to find ingredients for, like the letters X, but think outside the box. Brainstorm with your child until you come up with something fun and original for those hard to find letters. You’re bound to come up with something. Don’t forget to post your snack recipe on the refrigerator so your child can get used to reading the ingredients. You can cut out pictures of the ingredients and glue them on index cards for younger children who are not yet able to read. So what’s in a name? A lot more than just a bunch of letters. Your child’s name can be an everyday celebration, full of activities that allow him or her to feel one of a kind.
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