1-2-3 Come Do Some Name Writing Activities With Me

Put some fun into “name writing” practice.
This important skill can be daunting for little ones just learning how to hold a writing utensil.

Likewise, “practice makes perfect” can become tedious and boring.
With these things in mind, I designed this “kid topper” name craftivity.

There are a variety of ways you can use this packet.

The first way is to use as a worksheet with a “child topper”.
Run off the boy & girl patterns on copy paper, or to make them sturdier, use white construction paper.

There are 18, BW girl options, as well as 18 boy options. Children color the child, then trim and glue to the top of one of the worksheets.

There are 4 “I can write my name" worksheets. Choose which is most appropriate for your students.

To add variety & make things more fun, students write their name with a crayon, pencil, marker, pen & piece of chalk.

If your kiddos are like mine, this is a “big deal” that meets with lots of enthusiasm.

Another option, is for students to simply write with one utensil. My kiddos’ favorite is markers.

They can do this all at once, writing their name six times, or do this once each day for the first week of school.

IDEA: Have students choose two different colored markers, then show an ABAB color pattern to cover yet another report card standard.

Completed projects make an adorable bulletin board. I’ve included 2 posters to add extra pizzazz.

IDEA: After you take your bulletin board down, save your students’ work, then have them repeat the assignment, the last week of school.

You should see wonderful improvement in coloring, as well as writing! What a great keepsake too. 

The other option is to make a “strip booklet”.

To make one, staple X number of pages together, add the cover, then staple to the base of each students’ “kid topper”.

Children write their name on the first day, then again, once each month.

This is great to share during parent-teacher conferences, and also makes a wonderful keepsake at the end of the year.

I've also included 3, "bookmarks of praise" for boys, and another 3 for girls, which you can hand out when they pass this report card standard.

Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Getting to know you!" name map.

Well that's it for today. Thanks for popping in. 

It's summer; it's Friday, and I'm feelin' oh so fine! 

Time to don my straw hat & flips flops. Hoffmaster Beach here we come.

"A little sand between your toes, is a simple way to take away your woes. " -Unknown.

1-2-3 Come Do Some First Day Of School Activities With Me

It's been a busy week, so I just have a quick activity for this article.  I hope you can pop by tomorrow for a big classroom management packet that I've been working on, and finishing today.

I know there's a lot to do on that first day of school, but I liked to "over plan" as I never knew the abilities of my new bunch of kiddos. 

Along with the zillions of other things a teacher has to get done, there's always a few things to do that we need some one-on-one time with each child, but what do you do with your other students?

It would also be great to simply have a few moments peace to sort through forms and notes, while students quietly work on something that they can accomplish independently; independently being the "must have" here.

  With these things in mind, I designed two "sanity savers" entitled: "I made lots of new friends today!" 

Use it as an autograph page for your really young students, or a writing prompt for older children. 

Need more sanity?  Extend the activity by telling students to draw a picture of themselves, with one of their new friends on the back of the paper.

Since my Y5's were learning how to write their name, an autograph page provided great practice.  If you don't have enough time for everyone to sign everybody's paper, make one master that everyone signs, and then during recess or lunch break, run off copies. 

At the end of the day, pass the papers out for children to color, while you get a few last-minute things done before dismissal.  Yippee for a special keepsake that I'm sure parents will enjoy too. 

If you teach older students, have them write about some of the new friends that they made.  They can color the picture as well, and if time, they could also have their new friends sign the back of their paper. 

To help practice making decisions, whenever possible, I liked to give my Y5's two choices of something, so I made two coloring pages your kiddos can choose from.  (If you haven't learned yet, offering more than two choices to little ones, is time consuming and overwhelming for some.  They simply can't decide, and you don't have the time to waste with Pokey Joes. ) Click on the link to view/download the I Made Friends Today activity. 

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  If you have a first day of school idea that's worked for you, I'd love to hear about it.  You can reach me at: diane@teachwithme.com  or post a comment here. 

I'm off to go splash in the warm puddles with my grandbaby... Wishing you a happy day.

"A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning." -Brad Henry

1-2-3 Come Make A Keepsake With Me

Since "being able to recognize your name" and "write your name" were report card standards for my Y5's, I designed all sorts of repetitive activities that made that fun.

The parents of my students particularly enjoyed their child's keepsake name booklet, where they  wrote their name each month.  To help strengthen their finger muscles and dexterity, I included a themed coloring page for great fine motor skill practice.

The booklet is an easy and fun way to assess your students' abilities. Just an FYI, remind students when you pass out their booklets, that they are to only color ONE page. The 1st time I used the booklet, I had little ones coloring whatever they wanted, or whipping through the entire book, which defeats the purpose of showing improvement.

Make a sample and post it on your white board, to show them what page they should be doing. So that absent children are not missing a page, make sure to pull their booklets so they can catch up when they return.

For easy printing, run off and cut the booklet in half for a "just the right size" small booklet. 

Click on the link to view/download the Keepsake Name Coloring Booklet.

This packet will be FREE for an entire year, after which time it will be updated and become part of my Name Activities & Keepsake Monthly Name Booklets. In my TpT shop.

If you don't want to fuss with coloring, or you want to do an additional monthly activity, I also designed 2 pages where students simply write their name.

Use these as an easy assessment tool, to see at a glance who has passed this standard. You'll also be able to see wonderful improvement, which is a nice thing to show parents at conferences.  The update version includes a black and white copy, so that students can color their own pages.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.  If you'd like to see all of the cute educational things that I PIN, click on the "Follow me" heart to the right.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much; because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt