Activities

Laminate each child's name on a piece of paper and give the child play dough. Encourage the child to roll the dough into the letters of his/her name.

Starting from one part of the room and using your name, say, “Ms. ____ (your name) is looking for ______ (infant's name).” Watch for the infant to respond to his/her name being called. Repeat as you move closer to where the infant is playing.

Give the children name cards with their first names. Have them count the letters in their name. Graph the children's names by the number of letters in their names.

Make a matching game with the children's pictures and names. Print each child's name on a card and paste his/her picture on another card. Have the children match their pictures to their names written as text.

Review sign language for common words in the classroom. Encourage the children to create a sign for their own name. This can be done in small group.

Write letters inside various sized bottle caps, then make name cards. Provide each child with a water bin, bottle caps with letters, and a slotted spoon.

Give each child a penny, nickel, dime and quarter. Talk about what colors they are, the pictures on them and what they are worth. Display the coins so that the children can see them and tell them that you are thinking of a coin.

During large group or small group give each child a penny, nickel, dime and quarter. Talk about what colors they are, the pictures on them and what they are worth.

Write letters in the bottom of the cups in an egg carton. You could also stick them on so that you could remove and change them later. Place a large bead in the egg carton and close the top.

Create a grid with an organized array, such as different shapes in different colors. Make five columns, each a different color, and five rows, each a different shape.

Use a muffin tin turned upside down for this game. Glue shapes in a variety of colors on the cups. Make a row of triangles, a row of squares and a row of circles. Make one column red, one green, one blue and one yellow.

Write the children's names on a sentence strip and place them in the art center. Encourage the children to trace their names, using watercolors.

Make copies of book covers and cover the book titles. Laminate the covers. Place them in the writing center and encourage the children to make up titles and write them on the covers.

Provide each child with a character cutout from The Napping House by Audrey Wood. As you read the story, encourage the children to stack their characters on a “bed” (pillow) in the center of your circle.

As the children get ready for naptime, read I Love You, Good Night by Jon Buller. The children can learn some very silly and some very sweet ways to say, "I Iove you.

Provide opportunities for the children to get personal belongings from cubbies, such asa blanket and stuffed animal. Encourage the children to point out which blankets and animals belong to each friend.

Have the children help put out their own mats, cots and/or blankets before naptime. After naptime, have them help put everything away.

Take a nature walk with the children and point out things they hear, smell, touch and see. Place masking tape, sticky side out, on each child's wrist to make a bracelet. Have the children collect items to add to their sticky bracelets.

Make a bracelet out of masking tape for each child. Place the sticky side up. Go on a nature walk and have the children stick small leaves and flowers on their bracelets.

Create a Nature Café. Take the children on a nature walk during outdoor time. Give each child a brown bag and encourage them to pick up items found in nature such as small stones, sticks and leaves.