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.

38 pages.

This is a quick, easy and inexpensive little gift that you can have lying on your students' desks for that first day of school.  Be sure and write their name on the puzzle to make things extra special.  These can be precut to expedite things, or to give yourself some extra "sanity" time, you can have students cut up their own puzzle after they have colored the picture.

18 pages.

Why not have your students help create the decorations for your classroom with this cute super hero-themed "welcome" banner.  On the 1st day of school, when things are hectic, it's nice to have an independent activity that students can do.

15 pages.

Why not have your students help create the decorations for your classroom with this cute owl-themed banner.  On the 1st day of school, when things are hectic, it's nice to have an independent activity that students can do.

1-2-3 Come Make Some Banners With Me

More and more schools are telling teachers that they only want them to put up student-made bulletin boards that showcase their work, so I thought I’d take it a step farther and have student-made banners too.

I LOVE how festive a classroom and hallway look, when they are decorated to the nines with children’s “mess-terpieces.” As I’ve shared before, I have spent a small fortune on decorations for all of the seasons, months, and themes that I taught, so I like to design lots of FREEBIES so that you don’t have to.

A “Welcome” banner suspended from the ceiling in your room or hallway, is a wonderful way to greet children on their first day of school.

I thought it would be fun for them to help create that banner by coloring it.  A "full shot" of the banner, isn't that good, so I decided to just show the 1st pennant and the first letter in welcome, so you can still get an idea of  how they look.  The 1st and last pennants also come in black and white if you want your students to color them as well.

The first few days are often very hectic with all sorts of rules and regulations to go through, along with a lot of forms to fill out for each student. It’s nice to have an independent quiet activity little ones can do, so you are freed up to get some of that one-on-one stuff done.

Even if you have already started school, your students will enjoy having a part in decorating their classroom, making it look comfy with their special creations.

I have designed a color as well as a black and white version, of the cute “saying” pennant that starts your banner. (There are 3 "saying" options for the cow.) Because I’m all about things looking symmetrical, I suggest putting a duplicate at the end of the banner as well.

Run off and pass out the pennant pieces to your students. They color and cut them out. When everyone is done, gather on the carpet circle and put your banner together, spelling out the word “Welcome.” To add a bit more pizzazz you could tie ribbon bows inbetween each triangle.

So that you have enough pieces for each child, and your banner looks great from both sides, put the other set back-to-back. This will give you 16 total pennants.

If you have more than 16 students in your class (At this point with budget cuts I think we can only dream of small class sizes.) make another banner for a total of 32 pieces.

This can be hung as one long streamer down the hall above your door, or as 2 separate banners across your classroom ceiling. If you don’t have that many students in your class, allow early finishers to color the extra pennant pieces. You could also do one.

I tried to think of the more popular themes so that the Welcome Banners would match your room. Click on the link for the OWL welcome banner, the COW welcome banner, the APPLE welcome banner.

The WESTERN welcome banner & the PIRATE welcome banner, both feature a different pennant for each letter.

I've included a pennant for preschool, kindergarten and 1st grade.  I thought they were a bit too cutesy for older grades, but if you don't, and want one for 2nd or 3rd grade, drop me an e-mail and I'll make you one.diane@teachwithme.com

I've seen a lot of frog themed activities, especially about "leaping into a new grade, so I also made a  FROG banner.

Superheroes continue to be very popular so here's a SUPER HERO banner  as well. To view/download them, click on their links.

Why not  change your banner every now and then, as you switch themes.   If you’d like me to whip together another themed-banner, simply shoot me an e-mail and I’ll see what I can do.

Thanks for visiting today.  If you’d like to see all of the wonderful educational FREEBIES that I PIN, simply click on the “Follow me” heart on the right of the blog.

“Our success multiplies each time we lead someone else to success.” –Susan Collins

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This is an easy icebreaker for the 1st week of school.