Name Practice for Kindergarteners

One of the first things I do with my kindergartener's is help them recognize, write and spell their names. Some of my kids come into kindergarten knowing how to do this very well, whereas some may come to me and cannot even recognize their name when it is written down.

For the first two weeks I will use their names in the place of sight words in their word work center. Whatever they would normally do with their sight words, they will practice with their names. This is a good way for my kids to learn how that particular center works and what to do with a low amount of stress in learning the words. So later when we are practicing words there, they can focus on the word more than logistics of that center.

One of the first things I did was put all of their names on a small sentence strip. I got a pack of 30 at the Dollar Tree and they are perfect for this. I then cut the names apart. Make sure you put enough space in between the letters for cutting. Then I put them into a sandwich bag. I stuck a label on the front with their name so we can see what the finished product would look like/spell. This is really easy to do and simple. I made 14 last night in about 45 minutes.

The next thing I did with my kids' names was dot them out on the sentence strip. Again, I used the small ones from Dollar Tree. I dotted their names and then next week when they return with their photgraph/internet agreement I will take their pictures and attach them to the ends. I will laminate them and cut them out. They will use a dry erase marker to practice tracing their names. 

Finally, I have a box of beads with letters on them that I will let them use to practice making their name with. They will string the beads and this also helps develop their fine motor skills as they thread the bead. I got this image from Google, but these are the kind of beads I will use. You can get them at Wal-mart, KMart, or Hobby Lobby.

The first week we staggered in our Kundera and they got a chance to play with and make their names with the name bags I made (above). Here are some pictures of the name bags in action!