Labels Help

Having taught PreK and Kindergarten, and cold weather rolls around, there were many times when two (or sometimes more) student had the same type of jacket, lunch boxes, etc.

And sometimes a sweater or something was left behind, leaving me to wonder who it belonged to.

Parents, please make sure you label their personal belongings so there is no squabbling about what belongs to whom.

Always a Good Idea

Sometimes I use these, but I've also been known to leave the substitute a blank sheet of file folder labels, with instructions for them to hand out to each student and let the children write their names on them to aide her with identification.

In addition, and I've learned this from past mistakes, I don't pre-label these with my class roster. The mobility at my school is high, which means there's often students who leave and new students registered, making the pre-done labels obsolete.

Portfolios

I have a big purple crate with hanging file folders in it. Each folder has a manila folder with a child's name and his "recognition stamp".

Whenever I have my students do something that I need to keep - a completed assessment, a coloring page, a math worksheet, handwriting sample, or whatever I may need to show how that child is doing in class - all I have to do is tell them to put it in the purple basket.
They love to file their own work, and the portfolio is great to show parents during report card conferences, or to pass along to another teacher in the event a student has to be retained or referred for special testing (like speech.)

Instant Identification!

It becomes immediately evident when the school year begins that many of my new students don't recognize their name in print. A few can spot the first letter, but that can be a problem if you have more than one child whose name begins with that same letter. (For instance, this year, 8 of my girls have names that begin with an M.)

This is when stamps (cheaper than stickers) or stickers (if you prefer to go that way) help. I make 3 labels with a name, and that way the child can easily spot which coat/backpack hook is his. It also helps with name recognition. The other two labels go on his cubby and his portfolio folder. (More to come on those later.)

(In case you can't tell from the picture, Jacob's stamp is Marvin the Martian.)

Real vs Paper

Yes, I use worksheets, but I try to use the real thing whenever possible.  We're studying plants right now.  I think most schools are, now that spring is here.  There's always a wild batch of wildflowers somewhere around where we can pull our samples.  I gave each child a sheet of construction paper, and we glued our plants on them.  Allow to dry overnight.  The next day I wrote the words LEAVES, ROOTS, STEM, and PETALS on the board for them to copy, and they had to place the words in the correct areas.