Free Name Writing Practice Sheet for Kindergarten

Work on students learning to write their names with a free name writing practice sheet. This worksheet is editable so that you can type in your students’ names.

It’s my hope these free sheets can help you quickly produce individual worksheets for your students to use.

Let’s look at why name practice is important, some alternative ideas for making these feel less worksheety, and how to make the worksheets with your students’ names.

Why writing names “the kindergarten way” is important

At the beginning of the year, we work really hard in kindergarten to learn how to properly write and spell our names.

It’s important for students to learn to use an uppercase only at the beginning. (Yeah, I’m looking at you preschool teachers who still teach them to write the entire thing in uppercase letters)

I simply taught that this is learning to do it the kindergarten way.

So, we need multiple ways of practicing names that focus on seeing, using, and writing our names with just an uppercase letter at the beginning.

This worksheet can be one easy way to get practice.

But, you may also want to try things like this pokey pinning name activity or make this class book to work on names at the beginning of kindergarten too.

How to make them not feel so much like worksheets

You don’t have to just use these as worksheets.

Here are some ideas on how to use these for handwriting practice without making it plain paper-and-pencil work.

Because after all, I pretty much loathe worksheets.

Alternative ideas to using these just as worksheets would be to:

• laminate and use with watercolor paints (wipe and dry when done)
• slide it into a dry-erase sleeve and use with dry-erase markers
• print it onto an overhead and use it with a vis-a-vis marker (rinse and dry when done)
• print it onto an overhead (trim the corners) and use it on a large Magna Doodle

There’s a bonus in it for you

There are also two bonus pages in the free download. It’s a letter hunt for students who need to work on discriminating the letters in their name.

You can print these to use with crayons but I think these pages are perfect to re-use by laminating and writing with a dry-erase marker.

Students find-and-trace or find-and-color the letters in their names, but you could also have them use a bingo dauber (dot maker) and stamp on each letter that’s in their name too.

Here’s how to make it

So, let’s take your class list and make a name writing worksheet for each student. Here’s how to make this for your class.

First, download this freebie name writing practice sheet. [terms of use] [downloading help]

You can use it in Powerpoint or upload it to Google Slides (although you can’t use the same tracing font I recommend if you are using Google Slides).

Next, you’ll need to download and install this best handwriting font for kindergarten onto your computer.

Now, open the freebie and duplicate the pages with student names (slide 1 or 2) for the number of students in your classroom. One option has a crayon box, the other has a cool cat.

Change the text to each of your students’ names.

Make the font size smaller if a student has a really long name.

Then go to print. Be sure that the “color” setting is selected if you’re using Powerpoint so that the background will be printed. (It doesn’t mean you’ll be printing in color, it’s just a setting change to make the background show)

Then students will use a pencil, marker, or crayon to complete these sheets. They will write their name three times and then color the letters in their name.

I picked only lowercase letters for students to color since that is the majority of what they see in their names. They should find the matching lowercase to their uppercase letter and color that too.

Let’s wrap it up

When it comes to students learning to write their names at the beginning of the year, I hope this free name writing practice sheet helps you make produce individual worksheets quickly.

If you need a specific letter for students to practice more, you may love these free scaffolded handwriting worksheets for kindergarten.

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

More Handwriting in Kindergarten

• How to Teach Handwriting in Kindergarten
• Free Handwriting Strokes Posters
• Rainbow Letter Book – What I Use the First 26 Days of School