What's in a name?

As the second half of the year begins, we have been putting more focus on written name recognition.  Some of the Shamayim children know all of the letters in their names, some only know the first one.  Some know how to write a few letters, some still scribble.  Some children are interested, some are not.

All of this is developmentally appropriate.  We simply want the children to have opportunities to recognize their names (without photographs) and become familiar with how their letter configurations differ from (and are similar to) their peers.  In addition, for those children who are interested, being able to write some or all of their name is a great confidence booster.  It allows the child to be independent from the teachers ("I can write my own name on my work") and also provides early literacy practice.

When we returned from winter break, the job charts held each child's name with a small sticker (that they selected), rather than a photograph.  The sticker helps sort through the options (if they know they have a yellow sticker, they can eliminate those names with a purple, blue or red sticker).  As time passes, they will become more familiar with the letters in their name.

During challah bag decorating today, some children wanted to write their own name on their bag.  Grayden asked that his name be written on the bag and then he wanted to trace over it.  Bella wanted her name in bubble letters.  Ava (lucky girl with only three letters, two that are different) wrote her name with ease all over her bag.  Victoria knew some of her letters and the others were written on paper next to her from which she copied.

We are thrilled to see the interest and determination in so many of the children.