By the time your child is 3 years old, she can probably walk on a straight line. In this activity, she can show off this new skill, while learning about the letters in her name! Observing letters from various perspectives will allow her brain to process the letter shapes from different angles.
- driveway or sidewalk
- chalk
- index card with your child’s name written on it
Step 1: Go outside with your child and tell her you are going to write her name really, really big. Show her the index card with her name written on it. Touch each letter as you name it aloud.
Step 2: Ask your child to hold the index card and touch the first letter in her name. Encourage her to tell you the name of the letter. Provide the answer, if needed. Use the chalk to write the letter on the driveway in super-large print.
Step 3: Ask your child to touch the next letter in her name and tell you what it is as you write it. Repeat this step until you have written her whole first name.
Step 4: Model for your child how to walk heel to toe. Let her try.
Step 5: Invite her to walk around the shape of each letter in the same way. Explain that you are pretending that the chalk line is really a rope high in the air and she has to be careful not to fall off! You might say, “I am walking on the letter “A” for Alice.”
Step 6: Invite your child to follow behind you and ask her to tell you the name of the letter. Stop and wait for your child to finish walking on that letter before moving to the next one. Make sure to say the name of the next letter before asking your child to tell it to you.
Use only on the first letter of your child’s name and write it two to three times. Continue with steps shown above.
Ask your child to name the letters that you wrote. You might say, “I just wrote some letters. Do you know any of those letters? Do you know what that word says?” Provide the answer, if needed. Continue with the steps shown above.
