Free Back to School Nametags with PICTURES

First day of school....

Deep breaths.

You can do it.

That's what I tell myself every year! The first day of kindergarten can be a daunting task but somehow, someway we make it through. Here are some tips that will make your day go smoothly (even if everyone cries!)

Tip #1 Name Badges
I don't care for lanyards. Maybe it's the mom in me or because I was a kid in the 80's but they just seem like a choking hazard. I came up with this amazing solution a couple of years ago and they work GREAT!

I print out these little cards with their names on them and laminate them into these laminating pockets. I use the Scotch Pro personal laminator which is a total GAME CHANGER! One tiny badge clip later and VIOLA! Instant name tag that clips right to them, does not require a safety pin, and can easily be taken off at the end of the day so I don't lose all my name tags the first week of school.

Here are some affiliate links for the products I use. I get a small amount if you click on these links to buy the products at no additional cost to you. This helps support my blog, thank you!



They may seem kind of pricey for name tags but for under 17 bucks I have enough to last me about 4 years. That's pretty good! AND they last us all year long so there is no need to remake them throughout the year. Win!

Added benefit.....I put all of our log in information for our online programs on the name tag. Those first few weeks when I am the one logging them in it makes a big difference. We also use this as our lunch number so these can be printed out for lunch cards too. So many uses! 

Tip #2 Picture Name Tags
Last year I made these awesome name tags to put on their cubbies, job chart, center rotations, and book boxes. Having these cute pictures labeling everything in our classroom really added to our sense of community.  

On the VERY FIRST DAY of school I give students their name to color. We did this late in the day when we were DONE listening to directions and just needed some easy peasy coloring time. 

Students colored their name and when they were done they raised their hand (I was teaching this procedure so this was great practice) and I called them over to a nice blank space in our room and clicked a quick picture on my phone. Then they get to go to a MATH TUB (click HERE to see more about those) while everyone else finished. 

By the time everyone made it to a math tub I had a complete set of class photos and everyone was happy. It was a great way to end the day! Here is an adorable example: 

Here is a link to the FREE  FILE for the name badges and name tags. I edited my photos in Google Photos to make them square but you could just print them out straight from your phone and trim them any way you like. I made sure to have their name showing so no matter where we used the picture, it served as a resource for students to use to learn each other's names. 

So those are 2 HUGE ways that help me get things organized on the very first day of school. Keeping track of all of those little darlings is hard work! If you would like more ideas, tips, tricks, and just help surviving the first week of school I have lots of help HERE in this First Week of Kindergarten Lesson Plans. 

I also used these pictures in these Kindergarten Literacy Centers as a name writing station. Students love writing their friend's names as a writing center! Pin it here to save for later! 

Thanks for stopping by today. Remember, YOU CAN DO THIS! Your first day is going to be great!