One of the first purchases I made for my oldest daughter (Eliyanah) was a custom wooden name puzzle. At the time, she was one and I really wanted it to serve as a keepsake. Of course, I knew she would learn her name eventually, but I was not fully aware of just how many ways she would be able use it. Now, she’s five and I offer them as a product HERE. She still pulls it out periodically to play with it. My 3-year-old and 1 year old have one as well.
Why do I advocate for name puzzles?
Your child name is one of the most important things they can learn, especially as a toddler. It sets the foundation for learning letters and early literacy.
Here’s are three stages of learning their name:
1. Recognizing
In school/daycare, there are a lot of activities done to help with name recognition. From labeling everything a child owns, to crafts and activities that sometimes include both their name and picture. This gives them a sense of ownership. Seeing their name and other family members and/ or classmates names can also help them recognize and remember.
2. Spelling
After a child has mastered recognizing their name, you can move on to spelling. I taught my girls how to spell their name aloud first and then moved to the name puzzle for recognition and spelling. Name puzzles give them a hands-on way to learn how to spell their names.
3.Writing
There are a number of ways to introduce writing. I will focus on two way in this post: tracing. Tracing over the letters of their name puzzle is one way to do it, Or, you can introduce writing on the easel, tracing on paper/dry erase board.
Bonus:
You can also focus on them learning the letters sounds of their name. I get a ton of questions on what letters to introduce or how to introduce letters. I always say start with their name. Then you can move on to the most common letters which is m, a, s, t, i, p, n.
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Benefits of a name puzzle:
- Learn to spell their name
- Learn how to recognize their name
- Letter recognition
- Color recognition
- Hand eye coordination
- Boosts self-esteem
- Encourages motor and fine motor skills
5 Ways to Use a Name Puzzle:
1. Letter Matching
2. Use Playdoh to form the letters.
3. Trace individual letters with finger or stylus
4. Pair with dry beans or pasta to fill the name.
5. Use tweezers and Pom Poms as a fine motor activity.
If your little one doesn’t have a name puzzle, I encourage you sure to grab one. (Thank me later!) They make great gifts and your child will love it.
The best part:
It grows with them and it is a keepsake.
You can get your custom wooden name puzzle HERE.
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