Gift Tag Names

from 36 months · 10-15 min · Fine motor

What you need

Write the name of each person a present is for on the scrap paper, in big clear letters.
Let your child copy a name onto a gift tag, or just its first letter, and draw a little picture next to it.
Talk about the letters as you go: "Sam starts with S, like snake."
Tape each finished tag onto a present or a toy, and let them deliver it.

Copying a name onto a tag is writing with a real purpose, and finding the first letter of a name helps them hear the sounds in words.

Writing letters: Copying a big letter onto a small tag takes a steady grip and careful looking.
First sounds: "Sam starts with S" helps them hear the first sound of a word.
Giving: Putting a name on a present is part of thinking about who it is for.

Watch for them saying the letter sound as they write it, or spotting a letter from their own name.

Big letters are easiest to copy. Any mark they make counts: a wobbly S is a real S.

Easier: you write the name and they decorate the tag

Harder: let them write their own name on a tag that says who the present is from