First, make a letter necklace for each child. Cut out 3” circles from poster board, write the first letter of each child’s name on one circle, punch a hole in it, and thread it on a piece of 24” string to make a necklace for each child. Choose one child each day for the routine below:
1. Place the necklace in your lap and do a little “drum roll” by tapping your hands on your knees.
2. Give clues about the child’s name as you write the letters on the board. For example, “The mystery name today has four letters. This friend loves horses and is a good artist. This friend has brown hair and brown eyes. Who can it be?”
3. Present the child with their letter necklace as you sing this song to the Cookie Monster song “C Is for Cookie.”
M is for Marcus,
That’s good enough for me.M is for Marcus,
That’s good enough for me.
M is for Marcus,
That’s good enough for me.
Oh, Marcus, Marcus, Marcus starts with M.
4. Encourage children to name other words that start with /m/.
*Let children decorate their own letter necklaces with stickers, fake jewels, and glitter pens.
Giant Letters
Write the first letter in the child’s name on a large piece of poster board and cut it out. Place it at the art center with collage materials. Invite the children to help decorate the letter during the day. Display these letters on a special wall in your classroom.
*You could also send the cutout letter home with the child with instructions for parents to help him make a collage on it with pictures, photos, environmental print, and so on.
Sign Language
Teach children the manual sign for the first letter in their name. Dismiss children to line up by making the sign for their name.
Name Puzzle
Write each child’s name on a 10” sentence strip. Cut between the letters in the name and put them in an envelope. Write the child’s name on the front of the envelope. The children empty the envelope and put the letters together like a puzzle to spell the name.
Unifix Cubes
Place dot stickers on Unifix cubes. Write the first letter in each child’s name on one color and the remaining letters on another color as shown. Store these in a pencil box. Children can take the letters apart and then put them back together to spell their friends’ names.
Flap Book
Turn a brown paper lunch bag horizontally. Fold over the end as shown. Open the flap and print the child’s name so that only the first letter will show when you fold over the flap. Glue the child’s picture under the flap.
Sneak a Peek
Cut off the left edge of an envelope. Write one child’s name on a 12” sentence strip and glue his picture on the right end as shown in the illustration. Place the sentence strips inside the envelope. Children pull out one letter at a time as they predict whose name it will be.
Rub Overs
Write children’s names with school glue. Dry. Children place a piece of paper on top of the name and rub with the side of a crayon.
Push Pin
Write children’s names on sentence strips. Children place a sheet of construction paper on top of a carpet square or mouse pad. Next, place their name on top and punch around the letters with a jumbo push pin. When they hold the construction paper up to the light they will see their name.