Prep: 2 Minutes / Activity Time: 5 Minutes

Children love to recognize and write their own names. At 3 years old, children can learn to spot the letters in their names, especially the first letter. They are beginning to notice the shape and even the sound their special letter makes. This activity provides your child with failure-free practice in tracing her name. Writing her own name is empowering and is a step in believing she is a writer.

  • paper
  • highlighter
  • marker

Step 1: Write your child’s name on the paper with a marker in large, clear writing.

Step 2:  Show your child how to trace over each letter in the name with a highlighter or different color marker.  

Step 1: To make it easier, write just one letter of your child’s name on a piece of paper in large print.

Step 2: Use your own marker to guide your child as she traces a letter. Let your child follow your hand movement as you write the letter. Writing her name in larger print can help little hands and fingers that may not be ready to write smaller letters yet.

Step 3: Provide different color markers or crayons and let your child trace the shape of the letter as often as she chooses.

Step 1: To add some challenge:  Write different names that your child can trace, such as names of their family, teachers, or even the pet’s name.  

Step 2: Encourage your child to draw a picture of the person or animal the name belongs to.

Step 3: Place all the pages together in a book that your child can look at and trace over again. When your child begins to recognize that by writing, she can make real things happen, her curiosity and interest in writing will increase.