One of my first endeavors at the beginning of school is to fill the room with the student's names!  This helps the children feel welcomed and at home.  It is a comfort for them to see their name around the room.  Here are a few of the things I do:
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My first homework assignment is this name tag for their cubbies.  I send home a 5 x 7 index card and ask that the children find the letters of their name in magazines and create their name.  I put them on construction paper and laminate!
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Here is another one -so cute!!
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Here is peek at the cubbies and those name tags.
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I put up our Letter Posters. And check out the frames above the posters.  I put each child above their cubby.  It looks so endearing!  So guess where I found those cool frames?
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IKEA!!  Just $1 per frame (two in a package).  Oh how I adore IKEA!
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In honor of my sick daughter (who adores movies) – I used a “movie” theme.  I took photos of each child in black and white.  (Don't you just love the look of black & white? So cool.)
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I put each photo on black construction paper and used a gold paint pen to write their name and make a quick dot or slash border.
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So sweeeeet!
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I have a chart paper with everyone's name on my front white board.  It is our “reference” sheet for names.
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This idea comes from Mrs. Flynn (who is so efficient – love it!) – these are little name tags with magnets.  It is at the top of my white board and tells the children where they sit.  I changed the seating for two children.  They knew because they had looked!  Yay!
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These are my attendance/lunch tags (with a magnet).  The children move their name to the lunch board in the morning arrival.  The names remaining let me know who is absent.
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Each child makes a birthday poster the first week of school.  I put them in order of dates and hang.  This is a great reminder of the next birthday.
Another thing I do that is not pictured:

  • Every child has a name tent at their table.
  • The first class book I make is a “Friend, friend, who do you see?” with a photo of each child and their name.
  • The second class book is baby photos of the children (I type “I see Ethan.” or whoever the baby is).
  • The next class book is of family photos.

Here's a class book idea I love from Fairy Dust Subscriber – Amy Pylant:

  • Each child has a page with the familiar rhyme and their picture. Our favorite is Peek A Boo Guess Who.
  • I mount each child's photo on a piece of card stock.
  • I take a second piece and cut out a peek hole somewhere on the page so that when laid over the photo you only see a portion of the face.
  • The text on each page reads, Peek A Boo guess who? The children have to guess who and even after many repetitions, they still want to read it even though they have memorized who is behind each peek hole! So much fun and laughter!
  • I like to write their name at the bottom of the page so they see their name in print.