"Learning Time" Series: Spelling your Name

Except for randomly pointing out and spelling Garrison's name for him when a card arrived in the mail or he received a monogrammed something, I didn't start intentionally working with him on learning to spell his name until he turned 3. He'd known for a while that his name starts with G but that was about it.

The first (and pretty much only) "activity" I did with him involved his magna doodle and alphabet magnets. I wrote his name on the magna doodle and then had him search through the container of alphabet magnets to find the letters needed to spell his name. We went in order and found the G first, then the A, etc. He enjoyed going on a "hunt" for the letters in his name and then we spelled it together. Then, I had him spell it by himself but pointing to each letter. Then we erased his name but re-wrote it together (he helped me hold the little pen) and we said all the letters aloud.

After having some practice with spelling his name and saying all the letters out loud a few times, I gathered up the alphabet magnet letters (not all of them just the ones that spelled Garrison) and put them in a ziplock bag and we went into the kitchen where we played another little game. I had him reach into the bag and find the letters needed to spell his name so he could put the magnets on the fridge. He knew to look for a G first and then an A, and then two Rs. After the Rs he mixed up the I and the S and I corrected him and then he finished with the O and N. After that he spelled his name for me again while pointing out the letters on the fridge.

And for the next few days I'd ask him to spell his name before opening the fridge... or anytime we were in the kitchen. Plus I started asking him to spell it when we were in different rooms away from the kitchen. We made a huge deal about him spelling it correctly... or even almost correctly!

I also made up a game called the "Name Game" (haha) where I have written down all the letters in his name on small sheets of scrap paper. (So there's 1 piece of paper with a G, one with an A, etc.) And all the letters are inside a paper bag. He reaches inside without looking and pulls out a letter and figures out where it goes (he knows G is at the beginning, Rs are in the middle, N is at the end), and then eventually he has pulled them all out and has spelled his name. It's really simple but good practice too.

Since then he's learned to spell Selph, but doesn't have it completely mastered yet. We get spelling practice in by spelling his name a lot on his magna doodle or if we're signing a card for someone or if we're just coloring. (Although he hasn't spelled his name for us in a while...maybe I should ask him to make sure he hasn't forgotten.)