1-2-3 Come Sing A Song And Learn Names With Me!

On the first day of school many little ones will be overwhelmed with all of the newness of a zillion different things they've never experienced before, including being surrounded by other children who are strangers.

A wonderful "icebreaker" is to help youngsters feel welcome.  Learning their names quickly, is a very important part of that.  

Once children know each other's names, they also feel more comfortable, making friends rather quickly.

Since "being able to recognize their name" was one of my Y5 report card standards, I did all sorts of activities to help children accomplish that in a fun way.

Singing name songs was always a favorite activity. Since most children know the tune of Old MacDonald, I decided to start there.

Simply print off the adorable clipart song poster. Thanks ever so much to the very creative djinkers.com who provides licenses for teachers to use her clipart.

After children catch on, you can point to the words as you sing.

Fill in the blanks by pointing to 2 children and having them say their names. Continue the song 'til you have used every child's name.

As another name recognition activity, run off the farmer name cards and write your students' names on them. 

If you have time, it's nice to allow children to color their card to help with recognition. 

Using a variety of colors, to write the names, will also help really little ones associate their name with the color, helping them to differentiate more easily, especially if a lot of your students' names begin with similar letters.

Laminate the cards for durability. When you sing the song again, instead of pointing to a child, show their name card. 

When they recognize it, they can say their name.  Pretty soon all of your students will be able to read everyone's name!

You can also print off an extra set of name cards to send one home to parents.  If they post it on the bathroom mirror or other prominent place in the home, they can make it a teachable moment whenever their child sees it.

Click on the link to view/download the EIEIO Name Recognition Song.

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"A leader is anyone who has two characteristics: first, he is going someplace; second, he is able to persuade other people to go with him."  -W.H. Cowley