10 Fun and Easy Ways to Teach Your Child to Write Their Name

Teaching your child to write their name is an exciting milestone, but it can feel tricky if you’re not sure where to start. In this blog, I’ll guide you step by step, covering what to look for before starting and simple strategies to make learning fun and stress-free.

My Golden Rules for Teaching Your Child to Write Their Name 

Patience and fun are the best approach when it comes to teaching your child to write their name. By following the steps below we not only make the process easier for our children, but ourselves too.

1. Wait until they’re ready (see the pre-requisites below).

2. Only practice when your child is happy to.

3. Focus on one thing per day - perhaps just one letter at a time.

4. Keep sessions short, 5-10 minutes and stop before boredom sets in.

5. Always work at your child’s pace.

Pre-requisites for Name Writing

Before your child picks up a pencil, make sure they can:

• Recognise their name.

• Identify each letter in their name.

• Correctly order the letters independently.

• Use one-handed tools like a pen or pencil comfortably.

For more guidance, check out my other posts: '4 Things It’s Easy to Forget About Writing' and 'How to help your child write WITHOUT picking up a pencil.'

Nature Names

How to Do It:

1. Write your child’s name on a patio or pavement using chalk.

2. Ask your child to cover each letter with natural resources such as sticks, stones, shells, or petals.

Resources Needed:

• Chalk

• Natural loose parts (sticks, stones, shells, petals, etc.)

Water Your Name

How to Do It:

1. Write your child’s name on a chalkboard, patio or in a tuff tray.

2. Ask your child to 'paint' over the letters with water using a brush.

   
   

Resources Needed:

• Chalk

• Water

• Brush or cloth

• Surface (tuff tray, patio or chalkboard)

Playdough Prints

How to Do It:

1. Roll out the playdough - your child can help!

2. If your child knows their name, give them the letters to press into the dough.

3. If not, press each letter of their name into the dough in order.

4. Remove the letters to reveal the prints.

5. Challenge your child to match the loose letters to the playdough prints.

   
   

Resources Needed:

• Playdough

• Loose letters or cardboard cut-outs

Build Your Name

How to Do It:

1. Write each letter of your child’s name on individual building blocks.

2. Ask your child to arrange the blocks in the correct order to build their name. This helps with letter recognition, sequencing and fine motor skills.

Resources Needed:

• Building blocks

• Paper

• Pen

Rainbow Writing

How to Do It:

1. Write your child’s name on a piece of paper using a single-colour pen.

2. Ask your child to choose a different colour pen and trace over each letter of the name.

3. Repeat with several colours until the name looks like a rainbow. This activity can also be adapted for spelling words as your child gets older.

   
   

Resources Needed:

• Different colour pens

• Paper

Peg Name

How to Do It:

1. Write each letter of your child’s name on individual pegs.

2. Write the name on a piece of paper.

3. Ask your child to match the pegs to the corresponding letters on the paper, attaching each peg to spell their name. This activity also helps with hand-eye coordination.

   
   

Resources Needed:

• Pegs

• Pen

• Paper

Name Collage

How to Do It:

1. Draw the letters of your child’s name in bubble writing on a piece of paper.

2. Ask your child to decorate each letter using collage materials such as tissue paper, sequins or stickers.

3. You can adapt this activity to practise capital letters or specific letters your child finds tricky.

Resources Needed:

• Paper

• Pen

• Collage materials (tissue paper, stickers, sequins, etc.)

• Glue

Sticker Name

How to Do It:

1. Write your child’s name on a piece of paper.

2. Write each letter of their name on individual small dot stickers.

3. Ask your child to match each sticker to the correct letter on the paper.

4. To adjust difficulty, use multiple colours for a challenge or one colour per letter for an easier version.

Resources Needed:

• Paper

• Pen

• Small dot stickers

Cotton Bud Name

How to Do It:

1. Write your child’s name on a piece of paper.

2. Dip a cotton bud into paint.

3. Ask your child to dot along the letters of their name, moving from left to right.

Resources Needed:

• Paper with the child’s name written out

• Paint

• Cotton bud

Find Your Name

How to Do It:

1. Write your child’s name on a piece of paper for reference.

2. Hide letters of their name in a tray filled with a dry sensory base (e.g., fake snow, rice, or sand). This helps with letter recognition, sequencing and sensory exploration.

3. Ask your child to find each letter in order and place them to spell their name.

Resources Needed:

• Tray

• Small objects with letters (letter tiles, cardboard shapes or small-world pieces)

• Dry sensory base (fake snow, rice, sand, etc.)

• Paper with the child’s name written down

Learning to write their name is an important milestone for young children. These activities offer playful, hands-on ways to build letter recognition, fine motor skills, sequencing and confidence. I'd love to know which is your child's favourite?

Hi, I’m Emma, Early Childhood Expert and founder of Everyday. My goal is simple: help parents understand their children better, so connection deepens, guidance becomes clearer and every stage feels a little brighter. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the extraordinary - it’s about the everyday.