Make a game out of finding objects in your house that begin with the first letter of your child’s name. Write the letter on a pad of sticky notes and have fun tagging all the items you can find.
- pad of sticky notes
- marker or crayon
Step 1: Gather a pad of sticky notes, a marker and an item in your home that has your child’s name on it. Touch the letters on the object as you bring her attention to them. Ask her to touch the first letter in her name and then to write that letter on the post it pad. Assist as necessary. You might say:
Look, Lanie -- here is your backpack with your name on it. Let’s say the letters in your name together, L-a-n-i-e, Lanie. Can you touch the first letter in your name? Yes, that’s the Letter L. The Letter L makes the /l/ /l/ sound. Say it with me. /l/ /l/ L.
Step 2: Hand her the sticky note pad and marker and encourage her to write the first letter of her name on a sticky note. If she is not able or willing, write the letter on the pad for her. Locate an item in your home that begins with the same sound and bring it to her attention. You might say:
Hey, listen, when I say the word lamp, I hear the same /l/ sound like your name. Lamp begins with the Letter L, you can put that sticky note on the lamp. Say it with me, lamp, Lanie. Lamp and Lanie start with the Letter L.
Step 3: Go on a sound hunt in your home for items that begin with the first sound of her name. You might locate a few items in advance and place them around the room so that they are easy to find. For example, for the letter L, you might put out some lettuce, a stuffed lion and a lemon. Let her tag all the items you find. Name some objects that do not begin with the same sound and see if she can hear the difference. You might say:
How about shoe? Do you hear the /l/ sound when you say shoe? No, shoe does not begin with /l/ L. Let’s look some more. How about leaf?
At this young age, it’s enough to just expose your child to beginning sounds of objects. If she’s having trouble, it’s okay to tell her the answers.
Only choose objects that begin with the same letter and emphasize the beginning sound so that she can hear it more clearly. You might say:
/l/ /l/ lamp, /l/ /l/ lamp. Does that start with the same sound as /l/ /l/ Lanie? Yes it does. Let’s put a sticky on it!
Say the name of other objects in the room and see if your child can guess what letters they begin with. Write the letter on the sticky note and ask your child to tag the object.
