Whose Name Starts With...?
Match the people they love to the sounds their names begin with.
Their favourite word in the entire world is their own name, so that’s where this one starts. It’s the gentlest game in the set, and the most emotional.
How to play
-
1
Sit close. A family photo helps but isn’t needed.
-
2
Ask: “Whose name starts with mmm?” Then answer it together: “Mama!”
-
3
Now the big one: “And whose name starts with [their sound]?” Let them land on themselves.
-
4
Work through the whole family. Siblings, grandparents, the dog.
First-sound play, on the words they love most.
This is first-sound play using the words your child cares about most: the names of the people they love. Familiar names make the sound easier to notice. “Words have sounds inside them” is abstract. “Mmm is at the beginning of Mama” is not. You model the sound, they hunt for the person, and glow when the answer turns out to be them.
Want the printable version?
This game plus all nine, as beautiful one-pagers you can print and keep, with ready-to-use sound lists and simple ways to level each game up as they get better.
Free. One email, no spam. The game above is yours to keep either way.