Back to School Name Activities!

Working with our names in one of my beginning of the year favorites because there are so many options out there. In my classroom, we do various name activities for the first couple weeks of school.  Usually more than half of my students are unable to write their name at the beginning of the year so I try to do a lot work with their fine motor skills.  I used to do name tracer worksheets at the beginning of the year but have been able to find ideas that use less worksheets and are more fun for the students. 

Q-Tip Painting: One of our favorites in Q-Tip painting.  I remember when I first started teaching how scared I was of paint, but it is something we love and is manageable as long as you have guidelines in place for the students. I love this activity because it is such great fine motor practice.  The students love it and their names came out to be adorable!!!   

Rainbow Writing: Rainbow writing is another one of our favorite.  The names turn out so fun and colorful and the kids love it!  I love teaching rainbow writing at the beginning of the year because we are able to use it across our curriculum with letters, numbers, sight words, etc. 

Once they have finished writing their name, we then added stickers to our capital letter!  This is a great activity for their fine motor skills!

Magnetic Letters: Another easy name activity that I love is magnetic letter names.  The best part is that you have to prep it one time and then the students can do it over and over again.  I think this activity is especially helpful in teaching the students to recognize the letters in the name, since I the students are able to work with the letters and we can talk about the letters in their names.  

Name Flip Books: These are another fun way for students to practice their names.  Prior to this activity, I cut up the words from boxes.   I folded a paper in half and wrote the students name on it.  I then cut slits between each letter and students found the letters from their name and matched them in the correct order.  You can have the students glue or do it over again and again. 

Name Puzzles: Name puzzles are also a great way for students to practice their name.  I love them because I can keep them at the students tables and they are a great activity for early finishers and also easy to differentiate.  Some of my students may only be working on putting the letters in the correct order and may even need a name plate to match those letters.  Other students may be working on identifying those letters in their names.  These name puzzles are a great way for students to practice their letter identification. 

Name Train Cubes: These are another hands on way for students to practice putting their names together.  I wrote each students name with a Sharpie on cubes.  Students then take their names apart and put them back together.  I love this activity because I can keep it at their desk and it is something simple they can do if they finish another activity early. 

 

Name Identification and Writing Practice: This TPT freebie is one of my absolute favorites.  Students not only practice recognizing their name but also writing it.  It is an editable document on TPT from Miss Campos that you can find here Name Activities EDITABLE
In my classroom, I also put these in sheet protectors for the students who need more practice.  They are also an easy practice sheet to send home with students.  I LOVE this document!

I am able to see how quickly the students begin writing their name.  Most of my students are able to write the name after the first weeks of school... without me having to copy one million name tracers!  As a quick assessment, every couple of days, I will usually pass out index cards to the students and ask them to write their name on them.  I am then able to see if I need to start working more one on one with some students to provide them more support.  

I hope that you find something helpful in this post and I look forward to this coming school year!!!