Use these fun printable name puzzles for motivating and meaningful literacy activities for the entire year.
Why are Name Activities Important?
It’s no secret that preschool kids love themselves and they find any activity involving THEIR names to be extremely fun and motivating.
On the practical side, when kids learn to recognize their name, they can identify their cubby or their shelf on the drying rack. But most importantly, the skills of name recognition and name spelling are foundational literacy skills that will help kids understand how letters and sounds work.
What Can I Teach with Name Puzzles?
Every day I hear from excited teachers and parents who use my printable name puzzles. They tell me that kids LOVE using them. That’s why I love creating name puzzles. I’m excited to tell you about my new bundle of 11 name puzzles for preschoolers. You can use them all year long for fun and meaningful literacy activities!
Name Recognition
You can use name puzzles to help kids learn to identify their names. The name puzzles include printable labels so that you can prep the puzzles and store them in a labeled envelope or plastic bag. As kids begin to recognize their names, they can select their puzzle envelope. I like to encourage them to first look at the first letter of each name to find the correct one.
Soon, they will also begin to identify their classmates’ names.
Name Building
Let your kids use the label as a model so that they can practice constructing their names. With practice, they will learn to construct their names without a model. eventually, kids can begin to use the puzzles as a guide when they are ready to write their names.
Letter Recognition
As kids assemble their puzzles, talk about the letters that go together to create their names. They can even use their finger to trace the letters to help them remember their shapes.
Here are some questions you can ask?
- Which letter is first?
- What letter is at the end?
- How many letters make your name?
- Does your friend have any of the same letters?
- Can you find this letter somewhere else in the room?
- Do any of the letters have tails? curves? diagonal lines?
Beginning Sounds
Encourage kids to listen for the beginning sound as you say their name. Do any of their friends’ names have the same beginning sound? Can you think of other words that start with that same sound?
Syllables
After a child completes his or her puzzle, you can make it into a syllable activity. Say their name and clap out the syllables. For example, DeShawn has 2 claps and Alexander has 4 claps.
Rhymes
You can make a fun rhyming activity with the name puzzles. Substitute the first letter in a name with another letter to create a new, rhyming name. Be aware that this doesn’t work well with names that start with vowels and remember that some names could create questionable rhymes so think about this in advance.
Make 11 Different Name Puzzles
The Name Puzzle Bundle in my store includes 11 themes. You can also purchase the bundles individually.
Crayon Name Puzzles
Crayon name puzzles are perfect for the beginning of the school year. The complete puzzles are large and also work well on a bulletin board or as hallway or door decor.
School Bus Name Puzzles
The school bus name puzzles can be used for name activities at the beginning of the school year or at the end of the year to get kids excited about riding the kindergarten school bus. They are also fun to use for a transportation theme or community helper theme.
Pumpkin Patch Name Puzzles
These sweet pumpkin name puzzles are perfect for October and your pumpkin or Halloween theme.
Turkey Name Puzzles
Use these turkey theme puzzles for name activities with a Thanksgiving twist. You can also use this set to make some fun color matching activities by printing blank turkeys in different colors.
Snowman Name Puzzles
Snowman name puzzles make fun literacy activities that are a perfect addition to your snowman, winter, and holiday themes
Celebration Banner Name Puzzles
Use the celebration banner name puzzles to ring in the New Year or to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.
Heart Name Puzzle
These heart banner name puzzles will be a fun addition to your Valentine’s Day theme. Place a puzzle in a special envelope to create a sweet Valentine’s Day gift.
Caterpillar Name Puzzles
Are you looking for additional activities for your bug and insect theme? Try these cute caterpillar name activities.
Dog Name Puzzles
The dachshund name puzzles are one of my favorite designs. Kids love to see their dog grow in length as create their name.
Train Name puzzles
The train name puzzles work well as a transportation theme activity, but you can also use them for a fun Polar Express activity.
Ice Cream Name puzzles
Ice cream name puzzles work perfectly as an end of the school year or summer-themed activity. My son thinks that ice cream is the perfect year-round treat, so don’t feel like you have to use this name activity during warm weather months.
Purchase the Name Puzzle Bundle
Are you ready to make custom printable name puzzles for your kids? Stop by the store and purchase the bundle today.
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