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Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To WRITE THEIR NAME

August 13, 2021 by Danielle Whitefield

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If you’d like to build your preschooler’s fine motor skills, make sure that you don’t forget about helping them write their name.

WHY PRESCHOOLERS SHOULD WRITE THEIR NAME

When preschooler’s learn how to write their name, it helps them build a personal connection to words. Learning to write their name instills a sense of importance, and often creates an excitement for learning to write their first letters. Your preschooler will probably start out scribbling on paper, which helps them develop proper pencil grasp.

Your preschooler may then begin to imitate writing words in lines and scribbles, before attempting to form single letters. By the time a preschooler is five they are usually able to form recognizable letters.

For more information on the importance of your preschooler learning to write their name click here.

5 ACTIVITIES TO HELP PRESCHOOLERS WRITE THEIR NAME

Click any image below to see detailed instructions on how to do the activity.

“Shaving Cream Writing” by Gift Of Curiosity

Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To Write Their Name

“Alphabet Soup” by Play Teach Repeat

Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To Write Their Name

“WaterColor Salt” by Happy Hooligans

Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To Write Their Name

“Name Sensory” by Nuture Store

Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To Write Their Name

“Playdough Names” by Stay At Home Educator

Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To Write Their Name

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Category: By Skill, Play & LearnTag: fine motor
Previous Post:Child Writing the letter A in green colored sandTop 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers LEARN CAPITAL LETTERS
Next Post:Top 5 Ways To Help Your Preschooler LEARN NUMBERS 0-10

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary Weiss

    January 1, 2022 at 8:11 am

    What I love most about these activities is that it is sensory based. When we use multiple senses at the same time it allows us to grasp our learning goal at a quicker pace while retaining it also. Very stimulating for the children. I just Love it!

    Reply
  2. Christine Marte

    January 1, 2022 at 4:33 am

    The water salt name activity is new to me and looks fun!

    Reply
  3. Christine Marte

    January 1, 2022 at 4:32 am

    The watercolor salt activity is new to me and looks fun!

    Reply
  4. Connie Doctor-Jones

    January 1, 2022 at 4:18 am

    I love the alphabet soup idea.

    Reply
  5. Tammara

    January 1, 2022 at 4:12 am

    Love the hands on activities. Shaving cream is always a great go to.

    Reply
  6. Dontavia Edwards

    January 1, 2022 at 3:00 am

    I love when children write their name! They’re learning through play and using their fine motor skills!

    Reply
  7. Bridgette Fitts

    January 1, 2022 at 2:47 am

    I love the fact this our students are able to see a variety of ways to learn how to write their name. I would always use noodles that the students painted themselves to create their own name plate. Fun!

    Reply
  8. Angel K

    January 1, 2022 at 1:43 am

    Wow, writing activities that are easy to use in your classroom or at home. They need to strengthen those fine motor skills to write and these activities are the best to have children writing.

    Reply
  9. Laura

    January 1, 2022 at 12:19 am

    Great ideas. I love using shaving cream for practicing writing letters, shapes etc

    Reply
    • Taimi Torres

      January 1, 2022 at 3:04 am

      There are all great ideas. My favorite one is alphabet soup. I will have to give it a try with my students.

      Reply
  10. Rhonda McCarthy

    January 1, 2022 at 12:13 am

    I love the simplicity of these activities and that they can be created using items from around the house as well as a classroom.

    Reply
    • Acea

      January 1, 2022 at 2:27 am

      These are such great ideas for developing fine motor skills and learning name recognition and writing! I love the idea of using these in a writing or sensory center! Can’t wait to try!

      Reply
  11. seeta khan

    January 1, 2022 at 12:05 am

    WOW!!!!WOW !!!! This is super creative, what a great way to have fun while learning . LOVING IT

    Reply
  12. Katrina Vargas

    December 31, 2021 at 11:41 pm

    Love that they present different ways! Not just art, but different ways for manipulation 🙂

    Reply
  13. Cathy Terrell

    December 31, 2021 at 11:29 pm

    I have always enjoyed making up creative songs to help my kids learn to spell their names, but it was in song only. This site gives me wonderful ideas of how to provide a visual to go along with name song lyrics so that preschoolers actually recognize the letters that are in their name by sight as they sing their name song.

    Reply
  14. Rehanna Allen

    December 31, 2021 at 11:14 pm

    This was pretty awesome. It kind of makes me feel bad because I am thinking to myself, “Why didn’t I think of these things?” I like the salt and food coloring idea. It’s cheap and practical.

    Reply
  15. Brittany Klop

    December 31, 2021 at 10:36 pm

    I love all the ideas. Children love fun ways to learn things. What kids be mad or sad not to try. Me being a older women still love to play with all the materials provided in this activity.

    Reply
  16. Dana Burton

    December 31, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    I always get hung up on what manipulatives to use but this information helps me realize you can turn many household items into a learning tool. This is awesome.

    Reply
  17. Monica

    December 31, 2021 at 8:35 pm

    FUN ideas!!! Who said learning had to be boring?!?

    Reply
    • Allisen Brownell

      December 31, 2021 at 8:58 pm

      I love the writing in shaving cream and the playdoh to strengthen little hands. Play to learn! Love love love this whole collection of easy to prep activities. Happy name learning to all the kiddos!

      Reply
  18. Darlene Williamson

    December 31, 2021 at 7:45 pm

    I enjoy seeing the activities children can engaged in.

    Reply
  19. Geni Ainge Morse

    December 31, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    I love how this article it gives researched information on why a child’s name is so important to write as well as gives fun and accessible activities that I can do with my students.

    Reply
  20. Lisa Wigdor

    December 31, 2021 at 5:50 pm

    I love how the activities address all learning modalities

    Reply
  21. Tina

    December 31, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    My students have always loved playing with shaving cream and drawing shapes and practicing writing their letters! I personally don’t like the smell of shaving cream but have also had them do the same things with pudding and cool whip!

    Reply
  22. YummYee’ Cary~Boyd

    December 31, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    Huge ideas that will come in handy. My favorite is alphabet soup very creative with the name on the spoons. I also loved the “salt “ my other favorite, because preschoolers can utilize all five of their senses while having so much fun learning. A simple task can make such a great impact in a child’s learning. A lot of these ideas can also allow the child to participate and have fun with different activities everyday. ✏️📄 ♥️

    Reply
  23. Anabel

    December 31, 2021 at 4:45 pm

    Great ideas! Cannot wait to try when we return to school!

    Reply
  24. Naomi W

    December 31, 2021 at 3:24 pm

    I love that this incorporates kinesthetic learning!

    Reply
  25. Saimah Hameeduddin

    December 31, 2021 at 2:47 pm

    Ah I cannot wait to use this resource with not only my fellow teachers but the PARENTS! it’s all in one spot, genius. Thank you so much.

    Reply
  26. Chrissy

    December 31, 2021 at 12:45 pm

    Fresh, fun , and hands on sensory learning these activities are a MUST !!♥️♥️♥️ For learning letter formation and your very own name . My very favorite idea on your list is the shaving cream ( or you could use whip cream ) ! The best part is so interactive and easy … for easy peasy clean up you can use cookie sheets , old table cloth , place mats , old t- shirts keep cloths nice …
    Thank you 😊 for the great ideas 💡

    Reply
  27. Lisa Lucas

    December 31, 2021 at 8:16 am

    I love that the children are able to express themselves in more ways than just the traditional way of paper and pencils or crayons! Lots of hand on activities to help the children express themselves uniquely and in their own way!

    Reply
  28. Mya Phillips

    December 31, 2021 at 6:31 am

    I love the idea of children using other media to help them write their names!! Absolutely brilliant!!

    Reply
  29. Shana Weldon

    December 31, 2021 at 6:16 am

    Great engaging activities! I’ll definitely be sharing these with my families to continue practicing at home!

    Reply
  30. Shana Weldon

    December 31, 2021 at 6:15 am

    I’ll definitely be sharing these with my families to continue practicing at home!

    Reply
  31. Rita Khouri

    December 31, 2021 at 4:28 am

    I love that there are many ways to teach writing skills. Children can have fun , for example with writing letters in shaving cream. To the child it is play, they don’t realize these games will foster their interest in a lifetime of learning!!

    Reply
  32. Lori S

    December 31, 2021 at 3:48 am

    Children LOVE seeing their name in print and other media. They don’t have to be “pencil ready” to know how to form letters and recognize their name. Love seeing the hundreds of ideas to choose from to meet specific needs of each child!

    Reply
    • Trista

      December 31, 2021 at 6:55 am

      I love this list because some of these ideas are ones I never thought of. It’s creative.

      Reply
  33. Elizabeth Wright

    December 31, 2021 at 3:04 am

    What I lobe about all 5 of these ideas is that they combine name writing with sensory! Wonderful way to get preschooler’s to recognize, spell, and write their name into their long term memory! So fun and motivating too!!

    Reply
  34. Y D

    December 31, 2021 at 2:30 am

    I love the alphabet soup idea! Children are sometimes frustrated by writing the letters and this is a fun way for them to practice recognizing and sequencing the letters in their names

    Reply
  35. Jamie Brucker

    December 31, 2021 at 1:20 am

    Love the alphabet soup idea. I would put letters in a larger bin and add beans so they have to really hint for the letters. Left kiddos could even write their own name on the spoons.

    Reply
  36. Brenda

    December 30, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    Love these ideas!! So many ways to teach handwriting that doesn’t involve paper and pencil.

    Reply
  37. Valerie W,

    December 30, 2021 at 9:17 pm

    Incorporating easy to find, cost-effective manipulatives for the children is such a win-win. The students benefit by strengthening their fine motor skills in a fun and engaging way, while teachers focus on letter recognition and fine motor skills. I love when things like this come together. Everyone wins!!

    Reply
  38. Yer

    December 30, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    I love the sensory bin one. I think kids learn through play and touch but all are great!

    Reply
  39. Becky Hellebust

    December 30, 2021 at 6:52 pm

    Are you kidding? These are all amazing! I love the information I can use with parents, but the activity I’m trying for a small group when we get back is the salt and food coloring. I have liquid waters colors to use. I’m so excited!

    Reply
  40. Becky Hellebust

    December 30, 2021 at 6:52 pm

    Are you kidding? These are all amazing! All the different sensory activities to have kids learn to write their names. I love the information I can use with parents, but the activity I’m trying for a small group when we get back is the salt and food coloring. I have liquid waters colors to use. I’m so excited!

    Reply
  41. April B

    December 30, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    I have used shaving cream and play dough for over 20 years. It is true that teaching children to write their names helps with instilling pride and self worth. I love love love the alphabet soup technique. Letter recognition is key to teaching children to write their names! Thank you!

    Reply
  42. Felicia

    December 30, 2021 at 4:27 pm

    This is so true! Fine Motor Skills are an important part of each child’s growth! I loved this Read! I recently served as A Kindergarten Teacher and to see so many kids that didn’t attend preschool, I had allot of kids that didn’t know how to hold a pencil so they could try to write. They could verbalize certain things, but could not write. so I had to create time to help develop that skill with kids that were struggling in that area.

    Reply
  43. Letice Noble

    December 30, 2021 at 2:24 pm

    I have tried a few of the activities with my students. I love the alphabet soup…I Will be using this real soon.

    Reply
  44. Christy

    December 30, 2021 at 2:18 pm

    What wonderful ideas! I especially like the water color salt one. How fun would that be as a preschooler?! Shoot, I think that’d be fun to do as a grown up, lol!

    Reply
  45. Krista

    December 30, 2021 at 1:48 pm

    Love this resource!

    Reply
  46. Everlin Maria

    December 30, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    The alphabet soup idea is brilian. Can’t wait to practise it in class ❤️

    Reply
  47. Lena

    December 30, 2021 at 7:55 am

    What fun activities for little kids to learn their name. Very hands on and engaging. The soup is my son’s favorite one. He is already a pro in writing his own name! Yay! Thanks for the great ideas! 🙂

    Reply
  48. Janae

    December 30, 2021 at 4:14 am

    Wonderful ideas I have tried a few of them before and they work great

    Reply
    • Jessica Coon

      December 30, 2021 at 11:13 am

      How fun my son’s would love these neat educational hands on games!

      Reply
      • Jessica Brown

        December 30, 2021 at 5:46 pm

        I LOVE these!! Love that they are hands on and so much fun!!

        Reply
  49. Tari Blankenship

    December 30, 2021 at 2:53 am

    Love the variety of activities so the learner doesn’t become bored. I feel the shaving cream activity would be one I would always remember!

    Reply
    • Darlene Shank

      December 31, 2021 at 2:06 am

      I loved the alphabet soup idea. That looks like a lot of fun.

      Reply
  50. jerusha l terry

    December 30, 2021 at 2:20 am

    As a EC teacher, I always believe in building the fine motor skills before formally introducing “the pencil”. These name activities provide two skills…fine motor and name identification. Love it!!!

    Reply
  51. Kimberley Ann Hoodie

    December 30, 2021 at 2:04 am

    I remember the different stations we had in our preschool class almost 22 years ago. All 3 of my children have the same classroom as I did!! How about the days we went outside or to the gym with that big parachute looking things!!

    Reply
  52. Kerry Patton

    December 30, 2021 at 1:55 am

    I love the water color salt. It helps them see their names come to life.

    Reply
  53. Meena S

    December 30, 2021 at 1:32 am

    Letter identification and design done differently. Oddly enough some people start with strictly the motor skills and see if a child can hold an object crayon, chalk, pencil. These activities for learning letters are a tactile and encourage critical thinking in a truly fun way! Must try <3

    Reply
  54. Linda Morin

    December 30, 2021 at 1:22 am

    What fun! learning is always better with variety, and multisensory opportunities.
    Each person’s name is so important, it’s empowering for preschoolers to have ownership of thier name by knowing how to write it. Having fun is much better than frustration.

    Reply
  55. Kathryn Posey

    December 30, 2021 at 1:01 am

    Such a creative way to teach children how to write their names! Love it! So excited to try all of these!

    Reply
    • John, Achele Victoria

      December 30, 2021 at 9:39 pm

      This resources is Amazing and quiet helpful in teaching pre School on writing their names

      Reply
  56. Kathlene Burton

    December 30, 2021 at 12:38 am

    My preschoolers love writing their names in shaving cream! Alphabet Soup is another fun way for name recognition.

    Reply
  57. Debbie Serrano

    December 29, 2021 at 11:00 pm

    Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers Learn To WRITE THEIR NAME – I like how it is using other materials and textures to spell their name.

    Reply
    • Cyra Gish

      December 30, 2021 at 3:53 am

      I love the shaving cream idea the best.

      Reply
  58. Lana

    December 29, 2021 at 9:30 pm

    Very creative! I’ve been looking for new ways to practice writing names instead of just tracing.

    Reply
  59. Jamie Lyn

    December 29, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    I have always loved shaving cream writing, many great ideas in here thanks for this!!

    Reply
  60. Jayla

    December 29, 2021 at 8:19 pm

    Love the shaving cream and letter matching activities! Kids love to be hands on and this is perfect for that and while it seems to be a game for them they also are learning.

    Reply
  61. Courtney Priest

    December 29, 2021 at 8:08 pm

    Well done! “Alphabet soup” is such a creative idea!

    Reply
  62. Steph Gonzalez

    December 29, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    Love the Alphabet Soup “game”! And the play-doh one looks pretty fun as well. I can’t wait to start using these “games” with my preschoolers when I open my preschool. This stuff is literally Preschool Gold. I can’t believe how much dedication and time and resources went into this website! Seriously, the name of the site should be Preschool Gold because that is literally what this site is.

    Reply
  63. Bobbi

    December 29, 2021 at 7:37 pm

    These look like great ideas. Love the shaving cream writing!

    Reply
  64. Alice Harrell

    December 29, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    These are great. Love the alphabet soup.

    Reply
  65. Alejandra

    December 29, 2021 at 6:57 pm

    These are fun and creative ways. I love the alphabet soup one an can wait to try it with my child.

    Reply
  66. Jen

    December 29, 2021 at 6:36 pm

    Such fun ideas here!

    Reply
  67. Karen James-Wilson

    December 29, 2021 at 6:31 pm

    My three year old seems ready and excited to write his name, but my two year old daughter has been more hesitant. What I love most about these activities is that they’re not one technique is better or mandatory over the others. I have the freedom to implement any and all of these activities to help my preschoolers learn how to write and spell their names, and whichever activities are a hit (which looks like them all), will be the ones we practice repetitively.

    Reply
  68. Christina

    December 29, 2021 at 6:22 pm

    Love the sensory play to learn writing their names!! So fun!

    Reply
    • Charon Davis

      December 29, 2021 at 7:36 pm

      Puts a different twist to learning how unique your name is.

      Reply
  69. Brittany Hutt

    December 29, 2021 at 6:06 pm

    My daughter will love these activities! She loves “writing” her name. We have those alphabet beads that are being used in the alphabet soup activity so that will be the first one we try.

    Reply
  70. Melissa Maurer

    December 29, 2021 at 6:02 pm

    My students absolutely love shaving cream and I am already figuring out how to add these activities to continue name practice.

    Reply
  71. Cherie

    December 29, 2021 at 5:59 pm

    I love that these activities do not actually involve “writing”, are multi-sensory, and include working on fine motor skills that are needed before they should ever hold a pencil.

    Reply
  72. Jill Dahm

    December 29, 2021 at 5:26 pm

    Love how the classroom smells after the shaving cream! Thank you for engaging ways to practice our name. Thanks that it’s not always writing. Love when they can do activities like alphabet soup to practice their name!

    Reply
    • Heather Sprosty

      December 30, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      My favorite activity has always been shaving cream! Yes it’s messy but it’s fun and the kids love the feeling of shaving cream! Plus they love practicing writing their name in a fun substance they can touch.

      Reply
    • LisaRenee Fogarty

      December 31, 2021 at 6:16 pm

      I have been a preschool teacher for over 20 years and I know how to help preschoolers learn to write their name but I struggled with how to explain it to parents and the author of this article has made that struggle much easier.

      Reply
  73. Michelle Gunderman

    December 29, 2021 at 5:25 pm

    I am going to start using this with my daughter ASAP!!! This is awesome!

    Reply
  74. Sue Koxlien

    December 29, 2021 at 4:48 pm

    I love the alphabet soup activity the most! I’ll have to give this activity a try with my class! Always looking for new fun ways to learn! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Angel

      December 29, 2021 at 5:05 pm

      I love the shaving cream activity. My son loves sensory things.

      Reply
  75. Nancy

    December 29, 2021 at 4:38 pm

    I can’t wait to try these with our grandson! They look like so much fun!

    Reply
  76. Lori DeBoer

    December 29, 2021 at 4:27 pm

    Loved the printables in “All About Me.” Loved the Alphabet soup for name writing. They all are really great! I can’t wait to use this new resource!

    Reply
    • Mireddy Benet

      December 29, 2021 at 5:08 pm

      I have tried a few of these but excited to try new ideas like the alphabet soup, looks fun!

      Reply
  77. Brittany Klabunde

    December 29, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    These activities actually motivate me to do them with my children! They look fun and simple!! I love that I can use common items around the home to help my children learn to write their name! It will also help change things up and keep my girls engaged when they become bored by tracing with a pencil!

    Reply
  78. Julie Morey

    December 29, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    I’ve been looking for something just like this!! Thank you so much! I love the idea of the sensory bins where they have to find their letters for their name! Thank you!

    Reply
  79. Eugina Fails

    December 29, 2021 at 4:00 pm

    We use shaving cream weekly in our classroom! Love it! The Alphabet soup is a great idea, I want to try that one!

    Reply
  80. Heather

    December 29, 2021 at 3:49 pm

    My 4 year can proudly write her name and my 3 year old would love to so these ideas will be great for her to learn!

    Reply
  81. Anita Biechler

    December 29, 2021 at 3:41 pm

    These are creative and a variety of ages in the preschool setting would benefit from these activities.

    Reply
  82. Oloniluyi Opeyemi Abosede

    December 29, 2021 at 3:28 pm

    All my years of teaching Preschool, I have always encouraged scribbling on the sand, the use of play dough to form letters and before you know it, they get used to it. Before the end of the Academic session, most of them would have started writing because of the pre-writing skills.

    Reply
  83. Jill

    December 29, 2021 at 3:24 pm

    So simple, creative and fun. Have been wondering about how to teach toddler Going to try the salt one first.

    Reply
  84. AmyBeman

    December 29, 2021 at 3:18 pm

    What great ideas!

    Reply
  85. Jessica Hunt

    December 29, 2021 at 3:04 pm

    Learning to write your name is so important and I love these fun and easy ways to teach my child. Can’t wait to try these!

    Reply
  86. Jess

    December 29, 2021 at 2:42 pm

    I love how it gives the kids different ways to be hands on with learning thier names.

    Reply
  87. Caitlyn Clark

    December 29, 2021 at 2:41 pm

    I can’t wait to try these out with my kids! I know my preschool-aged child will love them 🥰

    Reply
    • Tomilola

      December 29, 2021 at 6:31 pm

      My son is learning to write his name and this will come in handy

      Reply
  88. Bryonna Harrington

    December 29, 2021 at 6:20 am

    I have a 3 year old student who has been totally getting frustrated with letter writing and number identification… this resource has literally blown my mind! These fun activities will surely help her turn the key!!!! Ahhhh! This is so great!

    Reply
  89. Kendra

    December 29, 2021 at 4:34 am

    I love the simplicity of this! It makes it so easy to quickly find easy activities that the kids will love!

    Reply
    • Alison Wood

      December 29, 2021 at 4:07 pm

      I taught my kids to write their names on a cookie sheet of flour and one on a cookie sheet of uncooked rice. Love these ideas too!

      Reply
    • Kristin Hurkman

      December 29, 2021 at 4:25 pm

      What great ideas! I love the creative ways to work on learning how to spell/write kids’ names!

      Reply
  90. Eilleen de Guzman

    December 28, 2021 at 10:14 pm

    WOW!!!!! The Alphabet soup and the WaterColor salt I must try to my next enrollment. I love all of the activities that are shown here.

    Reply
    • CHERYL HILL

      December 31, 2021 at 12:57 am

      Learning to write names in preschool can be frustrating for some preschoolers,however I like how each activity is hands on and offers a variety of ways for preschoolers to learn write their name. I will definitely incorporate these activities in my preschool.

      Reply
  91. Karisa Day

    December 28, 2021 at 9:03 pm

    I love the play-doh names! I need to get some letter cookie cutters to try this out! Great for fine motor skills as well.

    Reply
  92. Nur Billur Tosun

    December 28, 2021 at 7:39 pm

    I always had the inner resistance to use the old write in a paper technique of teaching them how to write their names etc. especially in such an early age ! Love the creativity in these examples . I know the kiddos love writing in shaving foam , it’s so much fun . Also sensory play has a huge role in learning and I love adding it to my daily lesson plan . Thank you for all these great ideas !

    Reply
    • Oloniluyi Opeyemi Abosede

      December 29, 2021 at 3:26 pm

      All my years of teaching Preschool, I have always encouraged scribbling on the sand, the use of play dough to form letters and before you know it, they get used to it. Before the end of the Academic session, most of them would have started writing because of the pre-writing skills we have introduced at the beginning. This is Quite helpful.

      Reply
  93. Richae

    December 28, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    OMG!! Im so excited I was wondering how I was going to get those 3 year olds started. These are great inexpensive age appropriate activities, even the parents can incorporate them outside of class.

    Reply
  94. Madiha Siddiqui

    December 28, 2021 at 7:38 pm

    Such fun ideas to develop the love of writing in children. I love that it involves sensory fun! As a preschool teacher with many years of experience, I know that children love this stuff and these kinds of activities keep them engaged for long periods of time. I’ve worked at Montessori schools where children just dread learning to write and in a play-based environment, children are self-motivated to ‘write’ at the ‘writing center’ and can’t have enough paper. Only if they have had experienced the fun of it through sensorial play first. When they are ready, they write!

    Reply
  95. Kia Gray

    December 28, 2021 at 6:50 pm

    I love all of ways to teach students to write their name. Besides the shaving cream, I use sand. My favorite is the alphabet soup but I would try the other ones out as well real soon.

    Reply
  96. Michelle Johnson

    December 28, 2021 at 6:11 pm

    I use many of these ideas in my classroom of learners with special needs. Anytime I can incorporate activities that allow them to explore their senses I do!

    Reply
    • Kristine

      December 29, 2021 at 3:03 pm

      I love that you make it fun for them, incorporating play into each suggestion!

      Reply
  97. Linda

    December 28, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    Wow! Love these creative ways to teach preschoolers how to write their name! Adding sensory activities to engage them is key! It’s all about the experience connection! I especially can’t wait to try the shaving cream writing activity!

    Reply
  98. Judith Bical Morano

    December 28, 2021 at 2:57 pm

    Love all the activities..it would encourage preschoolers to enjoy fun learning different activities in an easy and fun way

    Reply
    • Susan Pelofske

      December 29, 2021 at 1:33 am

      Such creative ways to learn all about letters! My granddaughter absolutely loves seeing & writing “O”, which is the first letter of her name. Really looking forward to trying our some of these ideas!

      Reply
    • Beki

      December 29, 2021 at 3:04 pm

      Names are the best! Kiddos love the attention associated with their names. These ideas are great and great for fine motor skills.

      Reply
  99. Marilyn S. Galicia

    December 28, 2021 at 5:24 am

    I would like my kiddos to do “WaterColor Salt” by Happy Hooligans.
    Thank you Joy for compiling all of these resources in an organized manner.

    Reply
    • Jessica

      December 29, 2021 at 3:06 pm

      It great that the activities are different with writing, finding the letters and just having fun with letters in their name that appeals to different ages.

      Reply
  100. Amanda Lindsay

    December 28, 2021 at 3:53 am

    I love all of the ideas here. I think my most favorite is the shaving cream activity. The children will have fun and improve their skills.

    Reply
  101. Lisa

    December 28, 2021 at 2:37 am

    My scholars love to write their name in shaving cream! This is the most requested activity.

    Reply
  102. Paula Farris

    December 28, 2021 at 2:32 am

    The Alphabet Soup idea is darling. So creative and fun! It would work well paired with a baking project using alphabet shaped cookie cutters to make name cookies.

    Reply
  103. LaShonda

    December 28, 2021 at 2:26 am

    I love all the hands-on name writing activities the shaving cream activity is a favorite through the texture of shaving cream helps calm young learners as well. Any child will have a blast with these activities.

    Reply
  104. Jennifer Satterwhite

    December 28, 2021 at 2:00 am

    The 5 ways to help preschoolers learn to write their name is very important. Here these are great hand eye coordination for children to play while they are learning to write their name. You have made writing for children easy with using their hands for the different texture, watercolor for the colors and name sensory to recognize their letters and name. I’m so ready to use these writing skills with my online preschool children in January. Thank you!

    Reply
  105. Denyse Martinez

    December 28, 2021 at 1:46 am

    I love that these activities provide opportunities for children to develop, their fine motor skills. (Fine motor skills involve using the small muscles that control the hand, fingers & thumb.)These activities help children gradually strengthen their muscles. This is important because this comes into play when children write or grasp.

    I especially love the “Shaving Cream” writing. This sensory activity, is fun & hands on. They use their sense of touch, smell, sight & explore writing letters or numbers in a fun way.

    Children’s self-esteem is so important, as they learn to recognize the letters, in their name they feel so proud! It helps them build self – confidence. All of these activities are important in developing fine motor skills, which will help students learn to write!

    Reply
  106. vivian A Ruiz

    December 28, 2021 at 12:16 am

    I like that there is a justification or explanation for why these types of activities are important as well as a colorful and well explained list of activities to choose from.

    Reply
  107. Tawnya

    December 27, 2021 at 8:25 pm

    I love that you not only give the how but also the why behind it so that I can be more passionate about knowing this needs to be taught

    Reply
  108. Jen

    December 27, 2021 at 5:34 pm

    So excited for the watercolor salt project! I think the kids will love it!

    Reply
  109. Jen

    December 27, 2021 at 5:25 pm

    The shaving cream and watercolor salt are my favorite, but every one of them look fun and like something the kids would love. I appreciate how it this is all set up by first explaining why its important for kiddos to learn to write their names and then the perfect activities right there at my finger tips to implement.

    Reply
  110. Monique Moreno

    December 27, 2021 at 2:01 pm

    I can’t wait to use the WaterColor Salt! The kids will have so much fun working on letter recognition and of course learning how to spell their name!

    Reply
  111. Angel Sarmiento

    December 27, 2021 at 12:33 pm

    I love this! Very smart and practical, writing without tears.

    Reply
  112. April yeboah

    December 27, 2021 at 12:05 pm

    I like all the activities especially Alphabet soup one. This is a great help.

    Reply
    • Oloniluyi Opeyemi Abosede

      December 29, 2021 at 3:27 pm

      All my years of teaching Preschool, I have always encouraged scribbling on the sand, the use of play dough to form letters and before you know it, they get used to it. Before the end of the Academic session, most of them would have started writing because of the pre-writing skills we have introduced at the beginning. This is Quite helpful.

      Reply
  113. Catrina Mathews

    December 27, 2021 at 4:51 am

    I love the shaving cream activity. It’s engaging and a fun way to teach children.

    Reply
    • KRISTINE LOPEZ

      December 28, 2021 at 6:15 pm

      What a fun way for children to write there name so they will not get bored.

      Reply
  114. Eboni Griffith

    December 27, 2021 at 3:58 am

    Can’t wait to try the Alphabet Soup with my students! What a great resource!

    Reply
  115. Sammy Bohannon

    December 27, 2021 at 3:41 am

    I LOVE the alphabet soup one! That is not an idea that I have used or thought of before. Very creative and effective in getting kids to learn to write their names.

    Reply
    • Tamiko

      December 28, 2021 at 3:38 am

      I love how hands on the activities are. Children love this type of interaction.

      Reply
  116. Earline M. SAWICKI

    December 27, 2021 at 3:39 am

    I am a super proponent of evidence-based learning! And this post includes that and so much more!
    Evidence-based resources regarding emergent writing for our littles!

    Reply
  117. Earline M. SAWICKI

    December 27, 2021 at 3:38 am

    I am a super proponent of evidence-based learning! And this post includes just that and so much more! Evidence-based resources regarding emergent writing for our littles!

    Reply
  118. Opeyemi

    December 27, 2021 at 3:36 am

    This is hands on, and this is purely playing for the children, and meeting goals for teachers at the same time.

    Reply
  119. Ashley Gallien

    December 27, 2021 at 1:04 am

    This is perfect! While teaching my preschoolers to practice writing your name I searched and searched what is the best approach into song so to make it a little easier to accomplish. Other than just saying trace and recognize the letters in your name but I wasn’t to confident in my way. These activities will surely help!

    Reply
    • Jamie Anderson

      December 28, 2021 at 12:18 am

      Love these multiple learning style methods for our heavy kinesthetic and visual learners!

      Reply
      • Latoya

        December 28, 2021 at 8:10 pm

        This is so helpful! After so many years of teaching preschool, ideas can become stale. So it’s very exciting to discover new ideas/activities that I can implement in the classroom and the children will be engaged! Amazing!

        Reply
  120. Samico Chilton

    December 27, 2021 at 12:59 am

    I’m blown away by how much information is sitting right here at the fingertips of all the wonderful preschool teachers. Teaching children different ways to write their names, build on their fine motor skills and learn letter recognition all at once is amazing!

    Reply
  121. Sherrell Widgeon

    December 27, 2021 at 12:08 am

    When preschoolers learn how to write their names, they are being introduced to many developmental skills such as; fine motor, letter formation, and letter identification, to name a few. My favorite name activity to do with the children, is to have them build their name with paper squares.

    Reply
  122. Bertha Rivero

    December 27, 2021 at 12:04 am

    The watercolor salt writing name activity is awesome! I mean, you know that children love to explore, create and have fun through the learning process. This activity has lots of key points in keeping a child focus, attentive, motivated, excited and full of curiosity. It also presents science and literacy concepts! I love how you just click on the image of the activity and takes you to the page in where you get a complete visual description of how to do this activity with your kids. I will definitely use this activity!

    Reply
  123. Zena

    December 26, 2021 at 11:05 pm

    These activities are awesome. Fine motor, letter recognition and sensory all included for writing your name. Children will love doing this.

    Reply
  124. Carrie Cook

    December 26, 2021 at 8:40 pm

    Hands down (hands on) the best ideas for teaching writing. Little kids need to build up muscles in their hands before being able to formally write. These ideas are so easy to adapt to any theme so preschoolers are consistently getting the practice! I love all things that can be thrown into the sensory bin to be explored!

    Reply
  125. Dorothy Sainvil-Brown

    December 26, 2021 at 8:25 pm

    OMG this is an amazing way of what I like to call a buy one get one free! Instead it’s so much more! What I love about this is, cognitive skills are growing along with motor skills. Also this can be done in so many creative ways with style, fun, and color! It’s like one of the many perfect assignments that a kid would want to do without resistance!

    Reply
  126. Angela

    December 26, 2021 at 8:12 pm

    WOW! This is an excellent resource to help students build small muscles in their wrist, fingers, and hand in multiple ways through fun play activities! I especially like the shaving cream writing and the watercolor salt activities. The watercolor salt activity is really great for the Skilled side of the hand development that allows children to use the thumb, index finger, and other fingers together for precision grasping as a result helps children to properly hold their pencils correctly. In addition, these resources provide intrinsic hand muscle development and build upon wrist stability along with other necessary fine motor development needed to be successful in writing! Thanks for sharing these resources!

    Reply
  127. Joy

    December 26, 2021 at 7:22 pm

    This is such an important skill! And not only does this give great activities it is a resistive to even share with parents on its importance.

    Reply
    • Jalissa Michelle

      December 27, 2021 at 7:36 am

      Omg! The shaving cream activity is the best! My daughter loves scribbling her little fingers around while she attempts to spell her name. I plan to try this with whipped cream next time for some sweet playtime fun.

      Reply
  128. Brenda Morgan

    December 26, 2021 at 7:12 pm

    I always start with teaching kids how to write their name, which leads to letter identification too. Your article on starting with capital letters first only gives validation that I am on the right track with them and helping them to be successful. I like the articles that are tied to the topic above. I think I am going to share this with new teachers, what a great resource and learning tool too!

    Reply
  129. Jenni Smith

    December 26, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    I like that there are different levels of learning activities provided: from matching to independent writing. I also like how art and sensory are included.

    Reply
  130. Catherine Parks

    December 26, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    This is another amazing preschool. To have the ability to help children with writing there name and much more this is so awesome and amazing to have.

    Reply
  131. Priscilla

    December 26, 2021 at 6:18 pm

    I know children need a connection to letters and learning their name is so important because they can associate with themselves then family and friends! Thank you Joy for completing this site!!! 🥰

    Reply
  132. Pamela

    December 26, 2021 at 6:12 pm

    Some really fun ideas to Introduce early writing and letter recognition.
    #giveawayentry

    Reply
  133. Nicky Cook

    December 26, 2021 at 5:55 pm

    I love that these are all sensory based. Kids love tactile building and creating with their hands.

    Reply
  134. Heather

    December 26, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    Kids don’t need more worksheets! They need FUN, engaging “projects” like these to make learning meaningful. I LOVE the spoon and Learning Resources (or Lakeshore?) ABC lacing bead idea. I have little zipper pouches I’m going to use to hold a set for each child and they’ll be available anytime. They’ll be great to use in my individual sensory buckets, too! So fun!

    Reply
  135. Sharonda Gray

    December 26, 2021 at 5:42 pm

    I’m truly blown away by how much information is available to anyone who needs resources on how to get started in preschool all on one site.

    Reply
  136. Kari

    December 26, 2021 at 5:41 pm

    These activities are so cute! Thank you for sharing and also for touching base on the sequence of writing. Don’t expect preschoolers to just start writing now form letters.

    Reply
  137. Valerie David

    December 26, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    I absolutely love this! This is a frustration among many teachers and parents as well as the kids. These fun activities are a sure-fire way to help children have fun while learning the letters in their names. I can’t wait to try these!

    Reply
  138. Susan Drexel

    December 26, 2021 at 5:20 pm

    Some super fun letter explorations and name recognition. I learned a few new ways to use with my classes and also am going to try and change up a few things I’ve been doing to create a new way to try things with different ages.

    Reply
  139. Morgan Carlson

    December 26, 2021 at 4:59 pm

    These are great engaging ways to help your child(ren) learn their name!

    Reply
    • Heather Austin

      December 29, 2021 at 10:54 pm

      Always looking for new ideas for letter recognition & name writing. Definitely will give these a try!

      Reply

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