Signing in to preschool

I have children sign in for years right along side their parents! On the left side of table is the parent sign in sheet, middle of table is the crayons or markers, depending on their age, and on the left, their are individual pieces of paper for each child to sign in on, this helps them practice writing their name and learn to recognize their names, along with recognizing other children’s names. (the older children have blank paper and the younger ones have their name prints on the paper with dash type font). And on the back of the table… Read more »

Here is the link to my pinterest page!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559220478701851819/

Our PreK rooms sign in when they arrive. Some rooms have the children sign more than once when they arrive (4-5 times, tracing their name). This since a bit too much. We have many opportunities for them to write their name or begin name recognition. Other than practicing name writing what purpose does it serve? Do children sign in at Kindergarten? There are many ways to explore writing as Amy suggested below. Also many children fine motor skills are not yet developed. For some kids coming in early, tired or hungry (or the need to explore or be alone for… Read more »

Hello! We have the kids sign in each morning. I have the large index cards (the ones that are the size of half sheet of paper) with their first name printed on it. I do the printing. I laminate them. They go in a small basket. The kids use dry erase crayons to sign in. As children come in we have a routine that is the same everyday and the cards are always located in the same spot. We have three tables–one has the cards and the other two have toys. We have about 20 minutes when children are arriving… Read more »

I use signing in with my pre primary class (4/5 year olds). In term 1 they trace their name, in term 2 they start writing it on their own. In term 3 we start writing it on the line and in term 4 we introduce dotted thirds to get them ready for year 1. I like that it has them practicing their names daily but I also love that it becomes a part of the morning routine and settles the children as they come in.

Hi there I tech pre-k so 4’s and 5’s. We do a daily sign in! Our children love it and we have it on a table shortly after the children enter the room. I feel like it gives them purpose and helps them transition in for the day. We don’t just sign a name or mark. Some times it is a close pin sign in so this works the pincer grasp! Or an opposites matching puzzle or a math manipulative. I recently made felt mittens and ironed on the numbers 1-10 and got small snowflakes for the children to put… Read more »

I really like this method of sign in. I’ve done it with my class using chart paper for them to all write their name or name cards to trace or copy. I like the clipboards though. For the font like you talked about, I found that Comic Sans has the appropriate “a”. I use this all the time! Thanks so much for your posts!

We meet three days a week for our preschool. The teacher that greets each child (after they hang up bags, coats etc.) will either have a question of the day (in which each child has their name on a card which they can respond with) or a way for children to sign in. We tend to mix up ways to sign in. At the beginning of the year we make a name card for each child and always have it available for the children to look at. ( they hang in our writing center each day). Some days the children… Read more »

Hi Deborah, I have enjoyed receiving your emails about your activities and ideas you implement into your class very much. Our 3-5- year olds ‘sign-in’ each morning at our kindergarten. when they star,t they have a ‘name card’ made up for them, first name and last name and these are all put out on a table as they enter the class – girls are in green and boys are printed in blue. So they first learn that their name is either green or blue then they look for the first letter of their name etc.. The children take their name… Read more »

I do different sign ins for my 4s vs. my 3s. With my 3s I started using this Reggio Emilia sign in this year and it worked well so that students started seeing what the first letter of their name was and then we worked from there. https://fairydustteaching.com/2013/01/reggio-emilia-alphabet/ It’s a about half way through the post. Now that they students are familiar with the first letter of the name (some are still learning right now, others know how to write their name already!), I have switched to having a name card in front of them and they “make their mark!”… Read more »

At the preschool I volunteer at they have the children come in, and find their name tag which is in the same place everyday. Then on two separate tables they look for the paper with their name. I think that it helps some of the kids because the teacher uses dot to dot. We do this on a daily basis and I think it works really well.

Since I have 2-4 year olds, I have the children Velcro their photos under their names. They feel a lot of pride doing this but I am in the same boat as you as I am always reminding them

I sure do enjoy your posts! Thanks for taking time to share:) As far as sign-in for my Head Start classroom, we have the children do this every day as a part of their arrival routine (at the begining of the year we use pictures to learn the exact routine that they need to follow. For example: hang coat up, put folder in the tray, potty, wash hands, sign-in, and wish well board.) The younger children first find their name in print and then learn to make a line starting from top to bottom. After they have accomplished this task… Read more »

It is funny you are having the same struggles I did when I taught FIFTH grade. The children would always forget to sign in on the bulletin board. I did it for the sole purpose of skipping role call which I had to do anyway because of the students who forgot to sign in. I eventually gave up the procedure when I changed the bulletin board for the new season. Only one or two students in each class (three total) actually wondered where the sign in page went.

I have each child’s picture on the Smartboard with their name underneath. When they see their picture they can come up and trace their name. As the year progresses, I remove the name on the picture for those who have learned to write their name on their own. It always amazes me how quick they learn to write their name!

My younger kids trace their names every day on name tags that I have already printed their names on with yellow highlighter and laminated. My older kids have blank laminated name tags that they write their names on.

I have just started this routine in my classroom (almost all 4’s, a few 3’s). The kids really enjoy it. I have a special education co-op student, and one of her goals is to learn all of the children’s names. She mans the sign-in and calls over kids that might have forgotten This helps her see them one-on-one and chat with them for a moment, and learn their names. Of course, it’s also great practice for name writing. The kindergarten teachers in my building have said that it really throws kids when they can’t print their name, because they often… Read more »

Most of my pre-k kids can write their name so we are working on using “Kindergarten Paper” with the lines. I cut pieces of this paper into strips enough to give each strip at least two full lines to write on. I write the student’s name on one strip in the first line. They write their name in the second line. One strip per student per day. We have started doing this every school day and I will give all the strips to parents at the end of the school year. It’s amazing how challenging it is to teach them… Read more »

I have worked in a classroom of 3-5 year olds for the last 7 years. We use High Scope in our classroom. The children are expected to make a plan each morning after group time. So I use this as an opportunity for the children to practice writing their name. They have envelopes with strips of paper that they use to “sign in”. Then they use their strip and choose from various pockets that have pictures of the different centers in our room to choose from. We call it making a plan. My 3 year olds get strip that have… Read more »

I have done this sign-in but only for our 4’s and pre-kindergarten group. I don’t use it to sign in for arrival but chose a center that I want all the students to participate in. It has started slowly at first each year but becomes more of a habit as the yr goes on.

In scotland, when my children were at nursery, they had to take a card with a picture and their name (which matched the one on their coat hook) it had velcro on back. They took it to the snack board, so that those helping prep snack would know how many to cater for. All the kids loved to participate, and because this nursery included kids with extra needs it was a great success. As one of the nursery nurses took regiser as they greeted children and parents just inside door, their was a portable register in case of fire alarm… Read more »

I teach twenty 4 years olds…. We have 4 sheets of paper with 5 names on each. In the beginning of the year they trace their name. Now they sign next to their name. I helps me to remember who needs help with this and a quick way to see who is missing. It helps them learn to write their names and recognize friends name. I think it a great part of morning routine.

I have my VPK children find the owl with their name on it. Then they put it on a tree that says Whoo’s Here. They then go to tables set up with Dry Erase boards and markers. They write their names, letters and numbers until all children arrive. For the ones who need help, I have already dotted their names for them to trace. The ones that are ready copy words from around the room.

I teach older PreK and have used the sign in clip board before (this year we start our day with journals). I found the sign in a great way for the children to learn to recognize their names and practice writing. The first few months of school I added a small picture of them by their names (scanned & inserted) and had their names in dotted letters (font free online). After I was sure each child knew their name, I removed the pictures but kept the dotted lines for several more weeks. The final step was to leave a blank… Read more »

I like this idea. I usually implement this sign-in idea after the first of the year, when children are comfortable in my class and have practiced their name many times since September (usually on their art work). EXCEPT,,,,this year I have almost half of my 16 children still struggling with fine motor control. So, I am not doing this sign-in this year. Instead, I am working specifically with the children that need help in holding and implementing a pencil. By-the-way, I also made a decision to use a font that had an “a” that the children can copy. I use… Read more »

I enjoyed reading all the comments. I have used a sign in sheet for the last 12 years and it is part of the daily arrival process at out preschool. I do it differently most every year thinking I have a better way. However, I do talk with every parent about it prior to starting and explain that every child is at a different place with their fine motor and writing skills so as not to panic if their child doesnt write his full name while another child does. We discuss ways to support their child signing in while not… Read more »

At my daughters early learning centre the students are encouraged to sign in, but are not made to. The clip boards are on a small table outside the door to her room. They use a NSW foundation font (what is taught at school here in NSW, Australia). My daughter is left handed so they have found a clip board that is landscape with the clip at the top so it doesn’t interfere with a left or right handed child. At this stage my daughter (2 years) is just attempting the first letter in her name, but she does enjoy finding… Read more »

Hi! I do a couple of things. I have 2 separate classes…a 3 year old class and a 4 year old PreK class. For both classes, I have a small magnetic white board that the children use to put their magnetic names on every morning. The 4 year olds then have to sign in on our paper writing sheet (similar to yours). While the 4 year old class does both, name recognition and signing in, from the first day of school, the 3 year old class doesn’t start signing in until January (they just aren’t ready for it). The sign… Read more »

My mother has been doing this for years, and now that I am teaching I started doing it as well. I have a small welcome table right by the door with 2 clipboards. One has sign in sheets for the parents to sign in their child, as per social services, and the other is for the children to sign in. They know the routine- come in, hang up backpack, and sign in. They know that they can’t participate in the class art project, etc until they don some kids love signing in each day. Others need some reminding or encouraging.… Read more »

Hi. I use a similar idea in the last term of school but use two poster size, laminated boards and dry erase markers (2 columns on each). I put them on either side of an easel. The kids love it and they can erase if they make a mistake.

I teach pre-k and k, but I only have 1 k. For sign-in, I have word strips that have the child’s picture on one side and their name written with dashes on the other. Every day the child finds his/her name tag and traces his/her name and puts it in a special pocket chart on the writing desk. Recently, I have started taking out some of the traced names and letting children write their own names. For the younger children, I have left the original name tags out. The children also use the name tags to help them write their… Read more »

We divide the sign in sheet into two blank columns. Each day, there are two items for the children to sign in under. One column may have a blue sticker at the top, the other column may have a yellow sticker. Each child chooses the column they like better that day and makes his or her mark accordingly. It only takes an extra moment to set up each morning and the children begin to get excited to come in and see their choices each day. The choices can be related to themes you already have in the classroom (shapes, colours,… Read more »

Our children ‘clock in’ by finding their laminated name on a table and slotting it in a section for their name they decorate them theirselves and they are then available to use to practise their special writing or we use them for grouping children they can see at a glance if they are participating in an activity . Love ur idea but we have up to 26 children arriving for a session at the same time so wouldn’t work for us too frustrating waiting when u can see all those activities available to play and be involved with

In our Pre-School Unit 3-4 yrs we have a self registration system. The chn arrive and place their book bags in the box then find their picture / symbol card and place it on my “look who’s here board”. The card has the child’s symbol on one side and their name on the other side, it sticks on board with Velcro strips. Each term I set the cards out name side up to observe who can recognise their name without peeking at the symbol:) Aim is to cover symbols (with a plain white sticker) by last term and chn use… Read more »

I teach 2 1/2 – 3 year olds and we sign in almost everyday. I have a legal size piece of paper with all their pictures, typed names, and then a fairly good size area for them to write in. I am pretty relaxed about when they sign in – some do it right away and others will play awhile before getting to it. I will occasionally give a general reminder for them to sign in if they haven’t already done so. I am a firm believer that writing develops in a similar manner to talking. They need lots of… Read more »

I haven’t implemented a sign in procedure for my kids, but I like the idea since they always want to sign themselves out on our official sign in/out sheet required to turn into the state. As far as the “a” not being the right font, I understand and try to find font that has a traditional A. However, an observation on our kindergarten screening for my own children’s elementary school is they also know how to recognize the font sensitive letters “a” “J” and “I” so I try to teach those to my pre-k class. Just thought I would mention… Read more »

My sign in varies throughout the year. At the beginning of the year they trace their name or move some type of marker from “home” to “school”. Right now we have a clipboard and an estimation jar. The jar changes every day. They write their name and have to write down their estimation of how many items are in the jar (I have a number line right next to the clipboard). At circle time we use the sign in chart to take attendance, and then we count the items in the jar, record how many items were in the jar… Read more »

I make a weekly sign in with each child’s name and 5 spaces, One for their written name 4 spaces for signing each day. I tried having all the names on the same page but it kept kids waiting and late for breakfast.

wow! I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of this, but I love it! What a great way to give them some autonomy and responsibility.

we sign in to preschool too, we have a picture of them next to their name, and we laminated the paper, so they can use erasable crayons to write or white board marker, so each day I erase it and start over, not wasting paper. I teach preschool
3 &4’s. 🙂

I have my children sign in on the white board with dry erase markers underneath their names. I have them attached on sentence strip with contact paper.

I LOVE the kids signing in. I have a binder, and I made orintable worksheets with all of the kids names- they start out as block letters, then go to dots, then blank spaces to write. I have changed some of them to only have their name, and blank lines. I put these in page protectors, and when the kids come in, they sit down and sign in using a dry erase marker. They also recognize others names now!

“Sign-in” has always been a part of my daily schedule. It is the first thing students do when they enter the classroom. Like everything else, it is a process, and children begin school with a wide range of experiences! Each child has a name card; their photo is on one side, and their printed name is on the other. We start the school year putting the cards at the tables, photo side up, along with a strip of paper and a pencil. Students find their photo, write their name on the strip (at whatever ability level they have) and place… Read more »

I teach 3’s and this is the second year that I’ve used a sign in clipboard with my class. When I introduce it to the children, usually in January, I have two columns…one column has there name and the second column also has there name, but the letters are faded so the children can trace the letters in their name to sign in. I remove the faded letters once a child is able to write their name without it. The children seem to like it. They see their parents signing them in and out everdday and I think it makes… Read more »

im curious to see how this has been going in your classroom. i am trying to find the right system and i have gotten some good ideas. thank you for all your great posts!!

We also have a daily sign in! We have a three step process. To start we have a picture of the child next to their name, it is helpful for the younger/new students to find their name. When the children can identify their name without their picture we have a sign in with just their name. The last step is a sign in with just their picture and a place to write their name next to it. This has worked great for every child’s skill level in class!

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