Name frame

Ever since Bee (my daughter) started to draw pictures, I encouraged her to mark make/write her name at the top of her picture. This was not only so that I could tell it was her creation, but to also encourage pre-writing skills and make meaningful marks on paper. Over the past few months Bee has been writing recognisable letters that feature in her name. During free play she tends to write the letters on the paper in the order that they occur in her name, but just not in the correct sequence or in a line (from left to right) 

Bee attempting to write her name.

I remembered using letter frames when working as an Early Years Practitioner in a mainstream school. Miss Fair, an amazing, inspirational teacher introduced them to me, when planning a phonics session. Normally they are used to write CVC words (consonant, vowel consonant) but, I am going to use them to encourage Bee to write the letters of her name in order.

Who can play?

Children aged 3 years plus, depending on their age and stage of development.

Safety:

Supervision of children is advised at all times. 

What do you need?

• Paper
• Pen/pencil

What did we do?

To begin with I wrote Bee's name on the top of a piece of paper for reference. She could also go over it if she wanted to have a practice writing the letter. Underneath her name I placed a frame that had 8 sections big enough to write the letters of her name (in order)

The name frame

If your child is still learning how to form the letters in their name, you could always add a their name in the frame by making dots for them to go over.

Name frame with dots to help with letter formation

All that was left to do then, was to support and guide Bee in writing the letters of her name in the correct order in the boxes.  

Even though she wrote her letter 's' going in the other direction, she did write all her letters in the correct order.

We will continue practicing using the name frame and eventually, with a little bit of practice she will be able to do this without the frame.                          

What did we learn?

• Communication and language- Talking about the letters that feature in her name and the order in which we write them down.
• Physical development- Fine manipulative skills and hand eye coordination when attempting to write her name.
• Personal, social and emotional- Accepting support and help from others. Developing an awareness of her own name.
• Literacy- Linking sounds to letters, learning how to read and write. Learning the letters in her name and their formation.
• Mathematics- Spacial awareness when attempting to write letters in the boxes and counting how many letters feature in her name. Sequencing the letters.

What could be done next?

• Laminate the name frame so that you can use them again and again
• Hide letters around the house/garden that feature in your child's name. Once they have been found, they have to organise them in the name frame