One afternoon my daughter and I were reading through a book about a cat. I pointed out the cat and the fish and the rainbow like I had done so many times before, but then on a whim, I asked her where the cat was. She lifted her chubby little finger and it landed right on top of the cat. I knew technically that she could understand a lot more than she could express, but seeing that was still amazing.
I began to wonder what else she would be able to point out and within minutes was sketching and coloring several items that we talked about regularly. Ball. Flower. Girl. Boy. I cut the pieces of paper into squares and laid them out before us. I asked her where the girl was and she scanned the cards and pointed to the girl. When she pointed to the wrong card, I would show her the correct one and we moved on. It really was a lot of fun and so simple.
How to Make Your Own Baby Name Game
You will need:
One piece of blank paper
Black pen
Colored pens or pencils
Laminator
Fold the piece of paper in half lengthwise and then horizontally. Keep folding until the paper is a square. Unfold the paper. Draw simple line drawings with a pen and color them in with a pencil. You can also place the paper over a book that has drawings in it and trace them. You don’t need to be too detailed.
Once your design is complete, cut the squares out. If you have a laminating machine, you can laminate them at this point. (I recommend affixing a piece of double-stick tape to the back of each card and placing it in the laminating pouch so they won’t move.
Have fun with this and draw objects you know your baby will recognize. You can also take pictures of things around your house, print them, and use them as a baby name game. Your baby will LOVE this. 🙂
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Our cards have been so well loved. We have tucked them in the baby backpack for road trips and pulled them out on hot afternoons. I love how these cards have grown with her. She now names the cards as she points them out. And soon, we’ll be matching cards. Way too much fun.
I decided to slightly redesign the cards and laminate them which is what you see above. These cards are so much fun and I think they would also make a fun little gift, maybe something you could tuck into an envelope and send off to a friend?! They would also be fun to add onto a baby shower gift.
Hope you have a lovely {and creative} day!
