At the beginning of each school year, many children in my preschool class do not know their last name and can not tell me their mother or father’s first or last name. When asked what their mom’s name is, some would reply “Mommy.” If then asked what others would call her, they had no idea.
For safety reasons, it is very important for your child to know their full name and their parents’ full names. Here are some of the things we would do to help each child learn their last name and their parents’ full names.
- When lining up for snack or recess we would call each by their full first and last name.
- Make learning their full names into a singing game. This is very nicely illustrated in a Sesame Street Video.
- Make it into a matching game. Print the first and last names of all the children in the class on separate index cards. Then, have each child match their first and last name while saying them out loud. On the back of each card you could put the parents’ names.
