Back to School Name Art

Today I'm going to share a special book and art project perfect for the beginning of the school year. It is art illustrating names, and since your child's name is as special and unique as they are, I know they will have fun drawing their names. Even if your child shares a name with a million other kids, there is only one of them. They are unique and precious to you and to God, and they are created in His image. He or she is the only one of them there is!

Do you ever talk to your kids about their names? I mean, do you tell them the story of how you picked out their first and/or middle names, what they mean, or why you chose it?

My husband and I, like most new parents, debated for months over name choices for our kids. As our family grew, of course the siblings weighed in on their opinions for name preferences--sometimes with hilarious ideas. We wanted our firstborn to be as imaginative as Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes, plus we felt it was different without being weird. We thought we were being unique and loved the strong woman of the Bible Hannah, so we named our second Hannah. It turns out a lot of other people had that same inclination in the 90's! I wrongly thought our third was going to be boy, so that sweet baby had to wait a day in the hospital before we came up with a girl name we liked--Amy, meaning beloved. Grace and Nathan were our name picks for our 4th and 5th children, for their beautiful meanings and because we thought those names were names they could grow into and up to. We wanted to give our kids names full of beauty and character and strength. 

Illustrating their names gives children an opportunity to ponder what makes them special and unique. It can be a chance to simply reflect on the things they like. It's an opportunity to get some of their thoughts out of their heads and onto paper. They can illustrate their name and then display their name art proudly in their rooms, on their doors, or in an area the family can enjoy. This project also lets kids practice making bubble or block letters--how fun is that? All you'll need for today's project is paper and markers and scissors. I hope you have fun doing this special name art today! I hope your kids enjoy making a work of art out of their names. Post their art proudly in their rooms or your refrigerator! And I hope this name art reminds them they are uniquely loved and created by God--just like we all are!

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi (Amazon Associate Link)