'My name is Ela'

Zayne with my daughter Gg

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

My ward Zayne Mojica wants to change his name to Ella. I couldn't understand why he keeps on insisting that his name is Ella. 

I told him “Zayne, your name is Zayne.” I asked him where he got the name Ela and he replied “Ella as in elephant.” I guess he got it from “show and tell” in class but he looked dead serious that he wanted to be called Ella.

Then it occurred to me that afternoon that I asked him to practice writing his name. His name is Zayne so he has to learn how to write Zayne. 

I told him to write Z first by making a straight line then going down to the center until it reached the bottom where he has to draw another small line to make a Z.

There were times that I guided his hand in writing the letters that make up his name. He is easily bored doing this and I couldn't insist because that would start another word war between him and me. 

By that he would just scream “you are not my friend anymore.” I don't have the time to engage in that word war and so I would wait patiently until he gets interested enough to resume writing.

He would write the A above and Y above the line to complete his name. I can sense that he's laboring on it. But actually he started early learning to write his name when he was two years old with my daughter Gg as his teacher. 

My concerns on his difficulties in writing his name finally came true when a note from his teacher Sha came with the words “Try harder Zayne.” So the people around Zayne had to try harder teaching him to write his name.

After that teacher's note, I had to guide him in writing his name and trace the letters Z A Y N E. That was the time when he said that his name is Ella. 

He asked how Ella is written and indeed it was easy for him to write Ella instead of Zayne even though it was either ascending or descending

Teaching children how to write the letters of the alphabet is very important to their growth in writing and reading for their future.

Children can start learning to write as early as two to years years old. It is important to teach them slowly, at their own pace. Providing encouragement and a positive attitude are always best in helping children learn their letters in a healthy manner.

For more information on this, read http://www.ehow.com/how_4914074_teach-children-write-letters.html#ixzz2uwYJAJMq.


(The blogger/author is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis. You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063. )