NAME CARDS
Name Cards
Glue each child’s name to a sentence strip and write their name. Hold these up as you sing their names in songs.
Hint! When children become familiar with each other’s names, make new name cards without the picture clue.
Little Red Box
(Tune: “Polly Wolly Doodle”)
I wish I had a little red box
To put my child’s name in. (Hold up name card.)
I’d take him/her out and go,
“How do you do?” (Pretend to shake hand.)
And put him/her back again.
•Sing “Hug, hug, hug” instead of “How do you do?” as you pretend to hug.
Cover a small box with red paper and insert the name cards. Pull out one at a time as you sing the song.
BINGO
(Traditional Tune)
There is a friend in our class
And David is his name-o.
D – A – V – I - D
D – A – V – I - D
D – A – V – I - D
And David is his name-o.
•Hint! You may have to be creative as you use different children’s names in this song. You will have to stretch out the letters in short names and just use the first five letters of long names.
Hello, How Are You?
(Tune: “Skip to My Lou”)
Hello, first child’s name, how are you? (Wave.)
Hello, second child’s name, how are you?
Hello, third child’s name, how are you?
We’re so glad to see you!
Continue singing the song inserting children’s names.
Turn to your neighbor and shake their hand… (Shake hands.)
Turn to your neighbor and give high five…(Give high five.)
Echo Song
(Tune: “Where Is Thumbkin?”)
The teacher sings the first line and the children answer singing the second line.
Who has two eyes? (Teacher asks)
I have two eyes. (Children respond)
Who has one nose? (Teacher asks)
I have one nose. (Children respond)
Who has two ears (Teacher asks)
I have two ears. (Children respond)
Now we know. (Clap and sing together)
Now we know.
Continue singing other questions about eye color, pets, siblings, likes, hobbies, etc. Talk about how we are alike and how we are different.
Older children can do a Venn diagram with a partner.
LEARNING LETTERS WITH NAMES
Letter Necklace
First, make a letter necklace for each child. Cut out 3” circles from poster board, write the first letter of each child’s name on one circle, punch a hole in it, and thread it on a piece of 24” string to make a necklace for each child. Choose one child each day for the routine below:
1. Place the necklace in your lap and do a little “drum roll” by tapping your hands on your knees.
2. Give clues about the child’s name as you write the letters on the board. For example, “The mystery name today has four letters. This friend loves horses and is a good artist. This friend has brown hair and brown eyes. Who can it be?”
3. Present the child with their letter necklace as you sing this song to the Cookie Monster song “C Is for Cookie.”
M is for Marcus,
That’s good enough for me.
M is for Marcus,
That’s good enough for me.
M is for Marcus,
That’s good enough for me.
Oh, Marcus, Marcus, Marcus starts with M.
4. Demonstrate how to make an “M” in sign language. Encourage children to name other words that start with /m/.
•Cut out cardboard letters and invite children to decorate with stickers, fake jewels, and glitter pens.
Name Puzzle
Write each child’s name on a 10” sentence strip. Cut between the letters in the name and put them in an envelope. Write the child’s name on the front of the envelope. The children empty the envelope and put the letters together like a puzzle to spell the name.
Unifix Cubes
Place dot stickers on Unifix cubes. Write the first letter in each child’s name on one color and the remaining letters on another color as shown. Store these in a pencil box. Children can take the letters apart and then put them back together to spell their friends’ names.
Sneak a Peek
Cut off the left edge of an envelope. Write one child’s name on a 10” sentence strip and glue his picture on the right end as shown in the illustration. Place the sentence strip inside the envelope and carefully pull 
out the sentence strip to reveal one letter at a time. Invite the children to blend the sounds of the letters and predict whose name will appear.