Play to Learn

A delightful preschool experience

Writing our Names

Play to Learn Preschool
One of our main goals in getting our Pre-K students ready for kindergarten is to teach the children to write their first names.  We use different tools, art mediums, and sensory experiences to practice this important kindergarten readiness skill.  It doesn’t happen overnight, but with practice each day all of our students leave Play to Learn writing their names.
Rainbow Writing
Each student has a sentence strip with his name written on it.  The student uses markers to trace each letter, over and over again, to make a “Rainbow Name”.  When the name is finished, we tape the strip together to make a name hat!
Play to Learn Preschool

Bingo Daubers
The students use bingo markers to paint their names with dots.  These bingo daubers are great for students who are not yet ready to use a pincer grasp.

Play to Learn Preschool
Dry Erase Boards
One of our favorite ways to practice writing is on the white dry erase boards.  We always have a set of class names (written on name plates) handy so that the students can copy from them.
This student wrote the first letter of his name!
Play to Learn Preschool
It is important that we model the letters for students.  In this picture, the teacher wrote the letter and then the student tried to copy it.
Play to Learn Preschool
This student was able to copy his entire name from the model.  (Colin)
Play to Learn Preschool
Some students are not quite ready to copy their names.  We support these students by writing their name and placing it in a page protector.  The student traces the letters with a dry erase marker.  Sometimes we also need to add a mark (in this case, star stickers) to show the student where to start each letter.
Play to Learn Preschool

Water Colors
We love to use art supplies to write our names.  Students can trace their names with water colors.

Play to Learn Preschool

Flour Trays
Sensory trays (rice, salt, flour, sand) are terrific ways for preschoolers to practice writing their names.

Play to Learn Preschool
Shaving Cream
Writing letters in shaving cream (or whipped cream) is another great sensory-rich way to practice.
Play to Learn Preschool

Magna-Doodles
Our writing center contains a set of Doodle Pro writing toys.  This picture captures the very first time that Lucy wrote her name.  She was so proud of this accomplishment!

Play to Learn Preschool
Make it Practical!
It is crucial that preschoolers write for real purposes.  We make waiting lists in class any time there is a line of students who want to use a toy or bike.
Play to Learn Preschool
In the dramatic play area, students “sign in” to be seen by the doctor at our pretend hospital.
It’s also important to make sure parents realize the importance of having writing materials (pencils, crayons, pens and markers) easily accessible for their children at home.
Are you looking for more great Name Activities?  Try these 10 Easy and Fun Ways to help Children Learn to Spell their Names.
Many people have asked about our decision to use capital letters with some students. This post will give you a glimpse into our reasoning:

Print these EDITABLE NAME PRACTICE PAGES for your students who are learning how to write their names. You just type in your class list and print customized, differentiated name worksheets for each child. So quick and simple!

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Have fun playing and learning with your children today!

    

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Comments

  1. These are some really great ways to practice writing their names!! I love the rainbow hat idea! It gives them lots of practice writing and a cool hat when they're done. I also really like the sensory stuff too! This could go really good when learning the letter N, since name starts with an N!!
    ~Lanna