Place labels on your child's belongings. Allow your child to watch you writing or labeling their belongs and spell out their name aloud as you write it, pointing to them and then to the object, emphasizing that it belongs to them. This lets your child make a connection between speaking, writing and ownership. Encourage your child to write their own names on appropriate objects even if it is not legible, and give them lots of praise for their effort. As they repeatedly see their names everyday they will begin to associate the letters with their name.
Use tracing practice. Tracing paper is transparent enough for a child to copy the letters underneath and acts as training wheels when you are teaching the basics of letter shapes. Place tracing paper over a sheet with the child's name printed repeatedly in large print and have them slowly copy over each letter. You can also try having them watch you write each letter and then trace directly over your writing. Eventually they can try it on their own. Do not be discouraged if they begin writing strings of letters in random sequences or shapes; this is simply their version of practicing .
Carry paper and large crayons with you everywhere you go. Because practice makes perfect, it is a good idea to take advantage of waiting time in the doctor's office, traffic or grocery stores for an on-the-spot lesson. Children learn the letters in their name faster as they see them in their environment, so point out letters on signs or magazines and ask them to try to work on that one letter. Do not worry if the child begins to draw or scribble in addition to practicing letters. It is only a matter of time before they realize that only letters make up their name.