Name Recognition with Play Dough!

I like to introduce these playdough mats from day one of the school years! I have them as a morning activity first, and then I use them in our name rotational activities when I introduce reading groups for the first time!

These mats are editable, meaning each student gets their own mat! When you purchase and download this product, it is a PowerPoint file which you will need to edit to match your class list.

How Do I Edit the Mats? 

They are so simple to edit! First, you want to print your class list with the first names alphabetical order. Next, open up the editable PowerPoint document. The mats are in alphabetical order, with each picture starting with a new letter. I like to match each child’s name with the picture beginning with the same initial sound. So, I just go down my list, typing the students’ names into the slides I need. If I have two students that start with the same initial sound, I simply copy and paste the slide. I deleted the slide if I didn’t have a student with a particular initial sound. When I have made a mat for each of my students, I print on coloured paper and laminate the page.

Here is a video showing how easy it is to edit these mats!

I used the font KG Happy which is a free download for personal use from Kimberly Geswein Fonts. However, you can use whatever font you like and then make the letters just the outline; follow these steps:

       1. Highlight the name.
       2. Right-click and click on Format Text Effect…
       3. Change Text Fill to None
       4. Change Text Outline to Solid line, black colour and width 4pt