In Kindergarten, we start learning to recognize and write our names as soon as we come back to school and we practice all year long. Teaching children to write their names is not an easy skill, and I try to find any clever way to help us sneak in more name writing practice. This paint and foil Rainbow Name Tracing Activity is a perfect art and literacy activity all in one!
*Pair with our EDITABLE Name Games and Activities Growing Bundle!
Rainbow Name Tracing Activity
Why write your name when you could paint it? Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I see children who can write their names, but really have little to no interest and would rather do something else all day. So I’m always looking for ways to make name writing practice extra fun and engaging!
You’ll just need some simple materials for this name tracing activity. Nothing fancy. Aren’t the simplest projects the best?
Materials:
- Aluminum foil (or a mirror would work too!)
- Paint brushes
- Cotton swabs (also known as Q-Tips)
- Paint
We decided to use foil for this activity because we have wanted to try that for a long time since we saw this art project with paint and foil on Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds. But we also have done this with a mirror and it turns out just as awesome! Mirrors are best only if you have lots of mirrors or only one child.
Let’s get started!
Step 1:
Paint the child’s name onto the aluminum foil. Just use a normal paintbrush and paint it on.
We chose white, but it could be another color. Do this a few hours before you actually plan to have the children trace their names. You’ll see why in step 2.
Step 2:
Let the paint dry! Planning ahead is super helpful.
We tried it with both wet and dry paint, and wet paint works in a pinch, but dry paint is definitely the way to go.
Step 3:
Set out the paints, and let the children start tracing their names with cotton swabs or paint brushes.
RELATED RESOURCE: Back to School Activities and Centers for Pre-K & Kindergarten
I love that the cotton swabs are the absolute perfect size for little hands. They are small enough to help children have good fine motor control. Plus, they are super fun and irresistible.
We just love using things other than plain old paintbrushes.
Keep in mind that foil crumples really easily!
I like to snap a photo of the project after we’ve finished so I can see the progress the child has made writing their name throughout the year.
But if you want to save this name tracing activity, you’ll need to put it in something sturdy such as a manila folder to keep it from getting ruined.
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