During normal toddler development a child becomes fascinated with their name. Parents and Pre-K teachers can boost a child's self-esteem with these namesake ideas.

Around the age or 3 or 4 children become very self-aware and may go through a phase of calling themselves by their own name in third person. This enjoyment of their own name can help foster feelings of being unique and special. Here are some ideas for personalizing name-based crafts to delight a toddler or preschooler.

Tell The Child the Story of His Name

Is there a special reason that name was selected? Why not jot out the story on a pretty piece of thick paper and attach a favorite photo of your toddler. Read him the story of how his name was chosen and what it means to you.

Detail the Meaning and History of the Toddlers Name

Not every toddler will be able to understand all the information about his name immediately but many names have positive meanings associated with them. Planting these seeds of positive reinforcement in the preschooler's mind from an early age can be a self-esteem booster for him.

For example, the name "Evan" means "warrior". So you might encourage your toddler that he will stand up for truth and for those weaker than him. You might write his name and the meaning on a poster with his picture and include a story of a time you remember him being kind to someone else. Or let him draw pictures of what it means to help others. Decorate the name poster with all sorts of pictures related to the meaning of his name!

Famous People or Family Members Who Share Their Names

Include a list of your favorite family members, historical people or famous celebrities who share your preschooler's name and tell what they are famous for. You might say something like, "Whitney Houston is a favorite singer and you - my Whitney - enjoy singing a lot too. Your favorite song right now is 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. Your family loves listening to your serenades!"

If the child was named for someone in the family share that and put the information in her scrapbook and be sure to include details about how the child's namesake, your Aunt Grace, always had the most beautiful flower garden, or how Grandpa Robert was so handy he could always fix his own car. These tidbits of information can be fascinating and inspiring to a young child.

Create a Name Acrostic of Positive Character Traits or Favorite Hobbies

Use each letter of the child's name to list a positive character trait you see in the toddler. This can be a lot of fun and preschoolers will love to read about them and their name. For example, if the child's name is Clint you might create a poster that reads:

• C - Creative
• L- Loving
• I - Interested in Outdoors
• N- Nice to His Sister
• T- Trustworthy

You could also do one each year around the child's birthday that highlights his favorite food or activity instead of a character trait. Let the child cut out and paste pictures of some of her favorite activities or toys to include as a collage.

For instance if you had a daughter named Hanna you could include something like this in her scrapbook:

• H - Horses
• A - Ants in The Pants Game
• N - New Crafts with Mommy
• N- Nemo Ocean Favorites Songs
• A- Aqua-Doodle Play Mat

Here are some additional ideas for using each letter of the alphabet in a child's book to help you get started. You can use these ideas for the name creations or in putting together an alphabet photo album or ABC scrapbook.