The first day of school is a big deal for all school children. Being away from home is exciting but sort of scary as well, with new skills to learn and new people to meet. Luckily you can make the transition a bit easier for children with school name labels and some ice-breaker activities that help them feel comfortable in their new environment.
Customize Your School Name Labels
School name labels are useful for getting to know everyone’s name, of course. But they can also help children learn to spell their name. Write each student’s name in dotted lines on each label and have the children trace their name in whatever marker color they want. The school name labels at Sticky Monkey Labels already have fun, vibrant designs so all that’s needed is a big, bold name!
This or That
Students can get to know each other by playing a simple game like this. On the white board or chalkboard, put two simple options like Cats or Dogs with a divide down the middle. Then gather everyone’s name tags after they are created (before they are applied) and put them in a hat or bag. When you pull out someone’s name, they get to go to the front of the classroom and choose Cats or Dogs!
Drawing Quiz
Here’s another fun activity for before the school name labels are applied! Have every student draw a picture. It can be anything they want! Then hang all of the drawings up on the wall. You and the students can discuss the drawings and try to guess who may have drawn what. Pull names out of a hat or bag and that child will go up and claim their artwork, explaining it to the class.
Decorate a Cubby/Bin
School name labels like the ones at Sticky Monkey Labels can be used on a variety of surfaces, not just for clothes. Our larger name labels, such as oversize, large rectangle, and medium and large rounds are great for cubbies and bins. Have each student find their cubby by locating their label with their name on it (which you will have already assigned). They should then make the cubby their own by using a variety of craft supplies. Maybe they want to hang up some artwork or use some beads, strings, and cotton balls to make the cubby more fun.
Class Jobs Board
Go over the various daily duties of the classroom, like being the line leader or feeding the class pet. Then explain how each day the duties will rotate. The children will know which duty is theirs each day if their school name label is placed under a certain drawing.
First Day Olympics
Get the kids moving with some fun physical activities. The simple events could be things like seeing how far each kid can jump on a soft surface or seeing how high they can throw something sticky up the wall. Use school name labels to show each students’ accomplishments and then declare everyone the winner with some celebratory dancing.
Design a Playmat
Whether it’s for eating or using a messy material like Play-Doh, children will often have a mat to take out for these activities. Every kid’s mat will have a name tag but the rest is blank for them to decorate! This can also be done with notebooks or anything else the kids will all be using daily.
Brown Paper Bag Challenge
Present each student with a brown paper bag with a school name label on it at the end of the day. Tell them to bring the brown paper bag home and then put four items inside that represent who they are or what they like. When they come back to school the next day, pull school name labels out of a hat or bag. When their name comes up, they will present their bag to the class.
Regardless of what activities you might be planning for your students, the school name labels featured at Sticky Monkey Labels are just what you want to have on hand in the classroom!
