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    Home » Literacy Activities

    Published: May 25, 2023 by Hayley Winter · All activities should be supervised by an adult. This post may contain affiliate links.

    10+ Easy Hands-on Name Recognition Activities for Children 

    Inside: Children start learning their name by recognising the letters, ordering them then starting to write it around the age of 3 years old. These 10 hands-on name recognition activities are a perfect way for any child to practise! 

    10+ Easy Hands-on Name Recognition Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
    Jump to:
    • How to teach name recognition to preschoolers and toddlers?
    • 10 Name Recognition Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers
    • What’s next after name recognition?

    How to teach name recognition to preschoolers and toddlers?

    To teach name recognition to children, you must first start teaching the alphabet and letter recognition. Children will learn to recognise the first letter of their name, followed by the shape of their name. Once they can recognise the shape of their name, you can encourage them to order them using the following name activity ideas.

    10 Name Recognition Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers

    Name Activity 1: Build your name with Duplo blocks

    Building your name with Duplo blocks is a great activity for children to learn toe recognize their names.

    1. Use the sharpie to write on the individual letters of your child’s name onto the individual blocks of Duplo, ensure you use a capital letter at the beginning and lowercase of the remaining letters.

    2. Use the sharpie to write your child’s whole name onto the large duplo brick

    3. Encourage your child to match the letters from the individual blocks onto the large block

    4. Ask questions such as, What letter or letter sound comes first? What letter or letter sound comes next? Model to your child the sound the letter makes.

    Related: Your child will love this Duplo Hearts Letter Matching activity too!

    Name Activity 2: Where’s my name? 

    Teach children to recognize their names with this fun activity.

    1. Write on a large piece of paper a mixture of names including your own child's (to make this more challenging you can write in each name in different sizes and colours). 

    2. Encourage your child circle all the one which says their name

    3. Can they recognise any of the other names?

    Name Activity 3: Car park name ordering

    Car park ordering is a fun and hands-on activity for children to learn to recognize their names.

    1. Write the letters of your child’s name onto the stickers

    2. Place the sticker on top of the cars (1 letter per car)

    Match the letters to park the car!

    3. On the paper draw a road for the cars to go along and at the end draw a car park with the at the end in the order of your child’s name

    4. Play with the cars with your child and recognise the letters/sounds on them

    Play with this car park activity and let your child learn to recognize the letters in his name.

    5. Can they place them into the car park in the correct order?

    Name Activity 4: Magic Reveal Name 

    Write your child's name with a white wax crayon and watch it appear when watercolour paint goes over it.
    1. Use the white wax crayon or a candle to write your child’s name on the piece of paper 
    2. Use the paintbrush and watercolours and watch the name appear! 
    3. Repeat (as usually children think this is magic!)

    Name Activity 5: Tape Resist Name Painting

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by Fynn Sor | Happy Tot Shelf (@happytotshelf)

    Name Activity 6: Recognise it, Make it, Write it

    Recognize it, make it, write it - a fun activity for preschoolers to learn their names.
    1. Use the piece of paper and split it into 3 equal sections 
    2. Write your child’s name (along with a few others) in the top section - this is the recognise your name part.
    3. In the second place magnetic letters (if you don’t have these, cut up small piece of paper with each letter on) of your child's name
    4. Can you find your name and circle it (top section), can you order the letters of your name (middle part) and can you write your name (third part)

    Name Activity 7: Paper cup letters

    Help children to learn to spell their names and recognize letters with this fun activity.

    1. Write the letters of your child’s name on top of each cup

    2. Draw around each cup on a piece of paper in line

    3. In the middle write your child’s name (each letter per circle)

    Order the cups to spell their name.

    4. Can you child move the cups into the correct order? 

    Mix up the cups and let your child practice spelling his name.

    5. Repeat by mixing up the cups and trying again

    Name Activity 8: Rainbow Dot Sticker Name

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by Fynn Sor | Happy Tot Shelf (@happytotshelf)

    Related: Here are more super easy dot sticker activities for your preschoolers.

    Name Activity 9: Sticky Note Name 

    Simple sticky note game to help your child learn to recognize his name.

    1. Write each letter of your child’s name on to the sticky note and put them in order

    Put the letters in order for this letter recognition and name spelling activity,

    Top tip: Sticky notes are great because you can stick them onto the wall and they will not leave any sticky marks. Try these easy Sticky Note Ice cream Math activity ideas too!

    Name Activity 10: Dot the letters

    Teach children to form letters as they spell out their name with this fun dot paint activity.
    1. Write your child’s name in a highlighter onto the piece of paper
    2. Squirt some paint into the paint tray
    3. Use a cotton bud to either dot or go over the highlighted letters

    Top tip: If you don’t like your child to use paint, dot paint markers are a great alternative. 

    Name Activity 11: Peg the letters

    Use this hands-on activity to teach children to spell their names.
    1. Use the sharpie to write the letters of your child’s name on each peg (1 letter per peg)
    2. Peg the pegs in the correct order to spell your name. 

    Name Activity 12: Train name

    Train lovers will enjoy this name recognition activity!
    1. Draw a train engine onto the piece of paper
    2. Cut up squares of different coloured paper (these will make the carriages)
    3. Write each letter on one of the squares
    4. Can you order the letters of your name to make the train? 

    That’s not all. Here’s a list of fun gross motor activities for kids to practise spelling their names and get moving! 

    What’s next after name recognition?

    After your child is able to successfully recognize his or her name, you can move on to teach your child letter formation, starting with the letters in their names. Do not rush into getting them to write their names with a pen and paper, instead try these sensorial letter formation activities which engage their senses and make learning letter formation much more memorable and fun!

    More Literacy Activities for Kids

    • Learn to Read Part 4: 10 Easy Sight Words Activities for Kindergarten Beginning Readers
    • fun multi-sensory spelling activities for children
      10 Fun Spelling Activities for Children to Learn to Spell
    • Preschoolers learn to read by segmenting and blending CVC words, using this printable activity
      Learn to Read Part 3: CVC Words for Preschoolers
    • fun activities to overcome b d confusion
      3 Fun Activities to Overcome ‘b’ and ‘d’ Confusion

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    About Hayley Winter

    Hayley Winter is an Early Years teacher and the person behind IG play account @allaboutearlyyears , sharing simple and effective learning through play ideas for 3-5 year olds. Hayley has over 14 years of experience working within education in the UK. In her spare time, Hayley loves to craft and spend time with friends and family. You can learn more about her and her work at allaboutearlyyears.com

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    Hi there! I’m Fynn—educator, author, and mom of three. I believe a lifelong love of learning starts at home, and I’m here to help you nurture that spark. Together, let’s create joyful learning experiences that strengthen bonds and inspire curiosity for both you and your little ones!

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