I Can Write My Name!
Learning to write your own name is a big deal in the kid world! It means that youʼre
growing up and getting ready for school. Youʼre old enough to be trusted with writing
tools such as pencils, pens, and markers. You can use that neat looking paper with lines
on it. Names represent ourselves, so naturally itʼs a highly desired skill in the eyes of a
child.
Now where to begin helping your child learn to write his or her name? In my opinion, itʼs
best to teach name writing correctly from the start by using an upper case letter at the
beginning of the name, followed by lower case letters. As students enter kindergarten,
many have to be retrained because they were taught in preschool to print using all
upper case letters. While lower case letter formation may not be as easy as connecting
straight lines, itʼs less frustrating for children to learn correctly from the start.
Here are tips to keep in mind when creating materials to teach name writing and
name recognition:
1. Begin with only the first name. After the first name has been mastered, teach the last
name as well.
2. Model name writing that begins with an upper case letter and is followed by lower
case letters.
3. Find out if your local school district uses print or DʼNealian styles of manuscript. Use
that type of writing to ease your childʼs transition into elementary school.
4. Use a larger font when creating materials for tracing.
5. Purchase a chubby primary pencil, or use a pencil grip to encourage proper pencil
grasp.
6. Initially, you may want to place a star or sticker on the left side of the paper to remind
your child to start on the left. Itʼs not uncommon for young children to attempt to write
from right to left.
Some helpful materials to create for these exercises:
1. Laminate a sentence strip with the childʼs name printed in a black marker. Sentence
strips can be found at teacher supply stores (who may also supply laminating), or at adollar store. Children can practice tracing using a wet-erase marker such as Vis-a-
Vis. Wipe clean with a baby wipe or rinse under water for reuse.
2. Create a sentence strip puzzle. Print the name in a black marker. Cut the name
apart into puzzle-like pieces (one piece per letter). Laminate or seal using clear
Contact paper and recut. Place pieces in a zipper baggie. Children can practice
putting the letters of their name in order.
3. Design a tracing worksheet using teacher font software. Use a large font to begin
with. Make one line with solid letters as a model. Make a second and third line with
dot-to-dot letters for tracing. Leave a blank line for children to practice independently.
These sheets can also be laminated, but itʼs helpful for children to practice using
pencil as well. Pencil creates more friction against paper than marker.
1. Hide pieces of the name puzzle around the room and play a name hunt game. How
many letters are your looking for? Find them all, name the letters, and build the
name.
2. Build the name using play dough, modeling clay or Wikki-Stix. Make a crayon
rubbing over the Wikki-Stix.
3. Build the name using magnet letters on the refrigerator or cookie tray.
4. Build letters out of bread dough and bake. Yum!
5. Print with fingers (the index and middle fingers together) using finger paint and paper,
or shaving cream on a tray.
6. Paint the name on an easel (this promotes the top to bottom motion necessary for
printing). Sign his name at the bottom of artwork.
7. Together, make a name plaque to hang in your childʼs room.
8. Your child can sign his own name at the bottom of thank you cards.
9. Print your childʼs name in large letters, using a Sharpie marker on a piece of colored
construction paper. Teach your child how to trace the letters using a thin line of liquid
white glue (school glue). Cover in glitter and let dry.
10. Make a simple word search and have your child look for his name. How many times
was it hidden?
With each experience your child will gain self-confidence and skill. Keep the activities
varied, short, enjoyable, and engaging. If you stop while your child is still amused, he
will be eager to practice again next time. Keep learning fun!
Increase Your Child’s Reading Proficiency Through Sight Words
You may have heard educators mention the phrase “sight words” or “high frequency words”. Do you know what they are or how they can help your child with reading? If not, youʼre not alone.
Sight words, sometimes referred to as high frequency words, are words that occur frequently in the English language. Sight words can comprise between 50-75% of text, making them important words to learn. They are often exceptions to phonetic analysis and many are service words that do not provide a visual image. For example, can you picture an image for the words “of” or “the”?
Learning sight words can help your child become a better reader. Studies show that children who have a good grasp of sight words can increase their reading fluency (the rate at which they read), and reading comprehension. When your child spends less time sounding words out, he or she will have a better understanding of the material read.
Typically, children are taught a list of sight words at school that coordinate with their grade-level, or language arts program. If your child is school-age, ask for the list that the teacher is using. Otherwise, you can refer to commonly used sight word lists such as Dolch Sight Words or Fryʼs Instant Word List. You can begin teaching your child sight words before mastery of letter sounds, or alongside the learning of letter sounds. Knowing a few sight words will allow your child to read simple and predictable sight words stories, allowing him or her to practice and build confidence in reading.
Games and activities can promote sight word knowledge in a fun, easy way. Start with 2-3 basic sight words. You donʼt have to teach them in order. Itʼs actually more helpful to choose words that form a simple sentence such as, “I”, “like” and “the” or “I”, “see” and “my”. Help your child build a storehouse of sight words by introducing additional sight words after your child has mastered the previous ones.
15 Fun Ways to Teach Sight Words
1. Read sight word stories.
2. Label common objects in your home or childʼs bedroom such as bed, door, lamp, dresser, etc.
3. Play a sight word bingo game. Variation: Instead of placing markers on the words when called, use a wet-erase marker to trace the words. This works best on laminated bingo cards.
4. Use Sight Word & Picture Cards to build sight word sentences.
5. Create a picture dictionary that contains familiar items, objects, animals and label the words.
6. Practice spelling sight words with magnets.
7. Lay out an array of familiar sight word cards. Instruct your child to point to the words as you say them aloud.
8. Play a sight word search game after reading a story. Ex. Point to the word “for”. Can you find the word “like” on this page?
9. Car games such as I Spy Sight Words can turn dead-time into a learning-time.
10. Write sight word stories and illustrate them. Ex. I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my cat. I love my grandma. Wouldnʼt Grandma love to receive that in the mail?
11. Create sight word puzzles on tagboard or blank puzzles from the craft store.
12. Play a game of sight word concentration. Print two sets of sight word cards on your computer to create a matching pair. Laminate or cover with clear Contact paper for durability.
13. Play a game of Sight Word Snowman (a friendlier version than its Hangman predecessor).
14. Develop a sight word fill-in-the-blank game. I like ___ dog. (the, or, to) or ___ can go play. (We, Have)
15. Find or develop easy sight word search games to reinforce learning.
Summer Writing Activities For Children
Summer writing activities for children
Summer writing can present a challenge for parents. Children are eager to set
workbooks aside in lieu of outdoor fun. With a little ingenuity, parents can present tools
and activities that both entertain and teach their children.
1. Traveling this summer? Have your child choose some postcards from your travel
destination. He can tell Grandma and Grandpa all about his exciting adventures, or
even to his best friend back home. Be sure to pack postcard stamps and addresses!
2. Your child can help you write a grocery list. Sit down together, plan meals for the
week, and have your son or daughter write the list for you. Younger children can
write their own list to check off in the store.
3. Planning a vacation? Your child can write a packing list and check off the items as
they are added to the suitcase. Older children can read guide books and create an
itinerary of places to see.
4. Use tools besides workbooks, papers, and pencils to draw their attention. Try
chalkboards, whiteboards, glow in the dark or magnetic activity boards instead.
5. Encourage your child to become an author and illustrator! Demonstrate how to make
a book using a piece of construction paper as a cover, and plain sheets inside.
Assemble with a hole punch and yarn, or staple the book together. You may be able
to find a book from the library which shows how to make pop-up designs or shape
books.
6. Offer materials that promote writing outdoors such as a stick and sand, sticks and
stones, sidewalk chalk, finger paint, shaving cream on a tray, or a bucket of water and
a paint brush, which works great on hot days.
7. Creating a garden this summer? Your child can write the names of the plants on the
stakes.
8. An observation journal is a great way for your child to illustrate and write about plant
or animal growth. Your child will enjoy drawing pictures of a plant starting from seed,
what it looks like as a sprout, and the changes of shape and size until itʼs fully grown.
Your child can also mark the growth development of a chick to a hen, or a puppy to a
dog. Use your imagination!
9. Introduce spelling and language games such as Scrabble and UpWords for older
children. For younger ones, a game of Sight Word Bingo, Sight Word Memory, or
Sight Word or ABC Bingo may be fun. Some of these games, such as Memory or
Sight Word Go Fish, you can create using index cards.
10. Children will also enjoy writing activities in the form of Mad Libs, easy crossword
puzzles, or unlocking secret code sentences. Some of these materials can be found
online or in childrenʼs activity books.
11. If your child has had a birthday party or received a gift, thank you notes are a great
way to promote writing. Blank cards are great for older children, while younger
children can use the fill-in-the-blank ones and still feel a sense of accomplishment.
Any writing that you can squeeze in this summer will benefit your child. If you present it
as a fun activity, your child will likely see it as such instead of a chore. So break out the
sidewalk chalk, finger paint, and games to let summer begin!
Visit our store to find some hands on activities for your child!
Flash Card Fun; Going Beyond Drills
Build a Sentence Game with Sight Word & Picture Cards
As parents we all want to help our children learn and succeed. Teachers encourage extra at-home
practice because it reinforces important academic skills such as number or letter recognition,
letter sound identification, or even math facts. So, how can we accomplish this without meeting
our child’s resistance of a typical flash card drill? It’s simple! Turn the drill into a game.
Before you begin playing games, it’s important to know where your child is. You need to do an
assessment to determine which numbers, letters, sight words, math facts, or letter sounds your
child knows and which he doesn’t. Go through the flash card stack and have your child verbally
identify. Place the known cards in one pile and the unknown cards in another. For example,
your child can tell you the letter names for a-m (known), but not n-z (unknown).
Next, use the known cards as your base set for the game. Each week, add a few more cards
(between 2-4) from the unknown pile as a goal for your child to master. If your child struggles,
do not add more cards until your child has mastered the current set.
Last, you may need two sets of cards to play some of these games. You may choose to buy two
identical sets, print these from your computer, or write them on index cards. If you choose to
make yours, laminating them or sealing them in clear Contact paper will make them more
durable.
Ready to play?
1. Concentration: From your known card pile, mix two sets of flash cards together. Place the
cards upside down in a square or rectangular pattern. Each player takes turn flipping over cards
to find a matching pair. The player with the most matches wins! For math facts, it is best to
have one set of problem and one set of answer cards (ex. 4-2=? and 2). For number cards, have
one set of numerals and one set of picture cards (ex. 7 and a card with 7 fish). For letter
identification, an alternative is to have one set of upper case to match to one set of lower case
letters.
2. Go-Fish: From your known card pile, mix two sets of flash cards together. Each player
receives 5 cards and the remaining cards are placed upside down in the “Go-Fish” pile. Each
player takes a turn asking an opposing player if he has a card which matches that in the asking
players hand. If the opposing player has the card, he hands it to the asking player. If the
opposing player does not have the card, the asking player takes a card from the “Go-Fish” pile.
The winning player runs out of cards in his hand due to matches.
3. Flash Card Match: The child is given a set of flash cards from the known pile. The goal is
to match one of set of flash cards to the next. To make it fun, use a timer and set a goal to beat
the last time record!
4. War: Using two sets of flash cards, mix them together and divide evenly between two
players. The cards are facing downward so that neither player knows which card is next.
Each players slaps a card down quickly. The player that recognizes a match (or cards with
equal value in math), quickly takes the whole pile of cards before the opponent. Play
continues until both players are out of cards. The player with the most cards wins.
5. Bang: For this game, use one set of flash cards and add two cards that say “Bang!”. Place
these cards in a paper bag, shoe box, or coffee can. Each player takes a turn pulling out a card.
If the player can correctly identify the number, letter, letter sound, sight word, or math fact, the
player keeps the card in his pile. If the player cannot correctly identify the card, the card is put
back in the container. When a player pulls out a “Bang!” card, he must put all the cards in his
pile back into the container. The player with the most cards wins!
6. Flash Card Line-Up: Using one set of flash cards, have your child line them up in ABC, or
numerical order. This game works for number recognition, letter recognition, or even math
facts that are arranged by the answer to the equation.
7. Child as the Teacher: Children love to be in charge! It’s your child’s turn to give you a flash
card drill. It’s best to use flash cards that don’t show the answer anywhere, or you can cover
up the key with a piece of masking tape. Be sure to include mistakes so that you can test your
child’s knowledge and he or she can have fun correcting you!
8. Sight Word Sentences: Using a set of known sight word, picture, and punctuation cards,
your child can practice building sentences. Begin by asking your child to build simple
sentences such as “I like my dog .” (The underlined word is for a picture card.) Your child
will build the sentence and read it back to you, using an index finger to point to the words
while reading aloud. If your child makes a mistake, mention that you see a mistake. Ask your
child if he can figure out what it is. If he can, ask him to rearrange the cards to make the
sentence correct. If your child cannot, point out what the mistake was and help him correct it.
Re-read the corrected sentence and move on.
9. True or False Quiz: Use one set of flash cards for this game. As the quizzer, flash one card
at a time using known cards. As you present the card (such as the letter Z), you say “This
letter says /b/”. Your child will answer either “true” or “false”. Present some as “true”
answers and some as “false” to make the game interesting. Keep score of how many your
child got right!
10. Active Letters: Assign a movement for each letter card (whether upper or lower case). For
example Ais airplane movements, B is pretending to bounce a ball, C is clap your hands, D is
dance in place, etc. As you flash the cards, your child will respond with the corresponding
movement. This is a great way to get the wiggles out! Make S stand for sit. It’s a great way to
end the game.
The key to using games as a learning tool is to keep sessions short and fun. You don’t want to
wait until your child asks, “Are we done, yet?”. Try a variety of games to stimulate your child’s
interest and promote willing participation. In no time at all, you will have helped your child
accomplish more than possible with a flash card drill or worksheet. You may find your child
begging you to play again soon!
Like the Sight Word & Picture Cards? You can find them here.
Hello world!
I am starting this blog as a place to hold all of my educational articles. My hope is that these articles will be a help to both parents and educators who are searching for ways to turn a mundane activity into something fun! Stay tuned as I add more articles…
Lightning Bug Learning 