How your child's own name becomes their first favourite word
Ask any parent what their toddler's first written word is and there's a good chance it's their name. They spot it on artwork, bedroom doors, birthday cards and daycare cubbies. It's familiar, personal and theirs, which makes it the perfect place to begin exploring letters.
Letters with meaning
To a young child, letters can look like a jumble of abstract shapes. Their own name changes that. An A isn't just an A when it starts Amelia. An S isn't just an S when it begins Sam. Suddenly, letters belong to someone they know very well.
That's the idea behind our Personalised Name Tiles. You order your child's name as magnetic letters, and they can pick up each one, move it around and build their name themselves.
Small conversations, big learning
Building a name by hand naturally invites questions:
- Which letter does your name start with?
- What sound does it make?
- Which letter comes next?
- How many letters are in your name?
- What happens if we mix them up and put them back?
None of it needs to feel like a lesson. A few minutes at the fridge or on the playroom floor is enough. Early literacy guidance from the Victorian Government encourages families and educators to use children's names to explore letter sounds, and to let children play with magnetic and wooden letters.
Beyond one name
Once your child has mastered their own, the fun keeps growing. Try spelling a sibling's name, mum and dad, the family pet, or a grandparent. Children love seeing the people they love spelled out in front of them.
Made to be seen
Learning materials don't have to be plastic and noisy. Our name tiles are made in colourful magnetic letters designed to mix, match and look lovely on display, so they can live on the fridge or a magnetic board rather than in a toy box.
They also make a thoughtful gift for a new baby, a birthday or a child starting school, because nobody else in the world has the same set.
Start with their name
Learning to read and write begins with curiosity. Give your child the letters of the first word they ever fell in love with.
