Textured Names : Fun Name Recognition Craft

We’re happy to be joining in with the name recognition and writing series hosted by Preschool Powol Packets. Learning to recognise and write their names is an important milestone for children getting ready to start school, and for those can already read and write their names – using their names in crafts and activities is still a lot of fun, and helps them feel proud and connected to their work since it is personalised to them!

We decided to make some textured names using double sided tape and lots of fun materials. This activity was enjoyed by all of my kids (ages 3-6).

For this textured names activity you will need:

Coloured paper
Double sided tape
Your choice of materials to decorate – depending what you have on hand, or stashed in you craft cupboard.

We used:

pom poms
sequins
loose glitter in a shaker
small squares of coloured paper for mosaics
coloured tissue paper
googley eyes
coloured lavender rice (left over from sensory play activity)

You could also try other materials like:

plain uncoloured rice
lentils
small beads
buttons
ribbon
coloured wool

To get started, cut strips of double sided tape and arrange them on the paper to form the shape of the name. For younger children, you can do this step for them, or for older children they can do this step themselves.

Once the whole name is complete, then peel off the top layer of double sided tape to make it sticky.

Once the sticky side is out, the kids are ready to go wild with decorating their names. My kids enjoyed choosing from the different materials to make each section.

As well as being a fun opportunity to work with the letters in their names and talk about each letter, this task gives lots of fine motor practice as they have to carefully pick up the small items to stick down.

The mini pom poms were probably the most popular item with us.

Once everything is stuck down, you’re done. The good thing about using the double sided tape is that unlike with glue, you don’t need to wait for it to dry and everything stuck down pretty firmly. It’s always frustrating for the kids when the things that you have stuck down end up falling off!