My favorite way to teach young children new skills is to get them up and moving! It is very, very cold where we live so we are continuously trying to find ways to keep busy and to keep moving! I have found that preschool-aged children are able to focus on their learning better while their bodies are active.

These name spelling activities not only work on spelling but also strengthen fine motor, gross motor and sensory skills. These are definitely engaging and will keep your littles entertained while they learn.

Three Active Learning Ideas For Name Spelling

Letter Jump

Materials Used:

• Index Card
• Construction Paper
• Marker

For the letter jump activity, I simply wrote all of the name letters on pieces of paper and spread them out down the hallway.

While holding an index card with her whole name on it, she jumped from letter to letter in the correct order, “spelling” her name!

I would help her by asking, “what letter comes next?” and “can you find the letter __?”

Sensory Bin Letter Find

Materials Used:

• Plastic container
• Sensory bin filling of choice
• Plastic letters

For the sensory bin letter find, I gathered the magnet letters in her name and buried them in a sensory bin.

We used rainbow beans following this tutorial. Other ideas for sensory bins would include: rice, dried pasta or oatmeal.

As the child digs around and finds each letter, they can put them in order to spell their name!

I gave her enough letters to spell her name three times. When she was finished, she wanted to bury them and find them again!

Another idea would be to place the magnet letters on the fridge to spell them. If your child or student is struggling with the order of the letters, write them on paper for them and they can match the letters as they go. You can also write their name but leave out a letter here and there and they can fill in the blanks!

Block Letters

Materials Used:

• Plastic Blocks
• Dry-erase Marker

For our final activity, I wrote letters on our plastic blocks using a dry-erase marker.

It was fun to use a variety of sizes of blocks and have her build her name! If you don’t have plastic blocks, placing a piece of tape on wooden blocks would work, too.

Now it is your turn to get your child or students up and moving! You’ll be surprised at how engaged they can be when learning looks a little different than the traditional pencil and paper.

More Name-Learning Fun

Looking for more name activities and ways to practice name spelling?

Then you will LOVE this time-saving resource from Playdough to Plato that has 10 hands-on, ready to go name games! Just type in your kid’s name once, and it automatically loads into all of the games!

Put together name books, name puzzles, a name collage, use magnet letters, play dough, and so much more!

Grab These Fun Name Games Over on Playdough to Plato HERE

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Alison

Alison Davitt is a Special Education Teacher turned stay-at-home mom. She enjoys finding ways to teach her two young children through intentional play and blogs over at Yoga Pants & Pearls. She is a coffee fanatic who loves a cozy night in with her family of four. You can find more of her toddler and preschool activities on her Instagram and Pinterest pages!

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