Ideas to reinforce NAME writing in kindergarten?

Question

I have several this year who came into Kgn without the slightest idea how to write their name. Low exposure, no preschool, parents uninterested or unable to take time to practice or teach how to write their name.

I have a parent volunteer who will work with them 3x/week for 20-30 minutes, and I'd like ideas so she can go beyond tracing laminated names, shaving cream, and dry erase boards.

thanks for your help!!!

Answer 1

They need to know it is something they should LIKE to write, and feel proud of.  They are going to need to have it on EACH of their daily paperwork pages.  So, have mercy on their future teachers and get them to print it on a wide ruled page.  An idea is to copy off some EASY stories printed on the wide-ruled printing pages.  At the top, have two double ruled wide blank lines.  The volunteers can go around and show how they write their name on the first line and supervise how they write it below on the second.  Leave blank space in the stories for them to fill in their name at each blank spot where it fits throughout the short story.  Make the stories cute and happy stories they'd enjoy.

Answer 2

Put tempera paint inside a ziploc bag.  (a really good one.  Just enough to coat the sides of the bag.  .  Lay the bag flat. Then allow the children to trace the letters of their name on to the bag.  It's no-mess fingerpainting.  Also spread  cornmeal, uncooked  rice,  or sand on a cookie sheet.  They can trace the letters in this way, also.  If you have a sandbox, get the little foam letters and let them search for their name in the sand (I trace the letters onto a piece of paper, and let them match the letters at the beginning).  Use big tweezers with this to pick up the letters, and your working on their fine motor development.  Of course, finger painting their name, tracing their name, lacing cards with the letters in their name, ABC blocks, to form their neme, magnetic letters to practice recognition.

Answer 3

Use sand paper and cut out letters and have the children trace over them with their fingers. Also, send a note home to parents with a copy of the alphabet showing the proper way to print each letter and tell them to break the habit of writing all letters in upper case. Have them reinforce at home that all children need to write their name with the first letter in upper case and the rest in lower case form. Also at recess, use water buckets and paint brushes are good for the children to practice writing letters on the sidewalk as well as using sidewalk chalk.

Answer 4

My son couldn't do it until the end of kinder.

Give them a freaking break

Answer 5

Let the students first become comfortable with making and recognizing their names.  Write their names on sentence strips and cut the letters apart.  The students can practice using the letters to put their name together.  Once they get comfortable with making and recognizing their names then they can begin working on writing their names.  They may need more fine motor skill development.  Using play dough is an excellent way to help.  Show the students one letter at a time and they can try to make that letter out of play dough...gradually they can elevate to writing with fat crayons, then pencils.

If it makes you feel any better, I have students coming into my first grade class without a clue how to write their names also.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Let the kids write name tags for themselves, get little stickers they can pass around with their name, coloring sheets with their names, stickers with their names for their posessions.