Deciding on name tags is such a big deal!
Before stepping into the classroom, I would have never guessed that something as simple as attaching name tags to desks could be so complicated! In my first year of teaching, I got these HUGE name tags from some fancy teaching store. They were overpriced ($$$), not super cute, enormous, and essentially a big piece of tape. The tape was wrong, sure. But not strong enough for 180 days of children’s fingers picking away at them, day after day. (Did I mention how ginormous they were? They took over 1/4 of the desk!)
The next year, I got smarter and I made my own name tags. I laminated with my home laminator because the lamination is WAY stronger. And I stuck them on with one simple Velcro dot. This worked WAY better. Since they cost very little, I could replace them mid-year without pause.
Then, I got even smarter. Toward the end of the year, I thought “Why don’t I print something else on the back of these since they come off so easily?” And the double-sided name tag was born!
Over the summer, I worked on creating 13 options for the front and 9 options for the back. I think that’s like 117 options?
Why I Love These Name Tags
No name tag is perfect. But these are pretty close. I love that I can type their name right on the name tag (because who wants to write 20+ names?). My students pick at them minimally. If they pick off the Velcro dot (which is really hard to do), then they just sit their name tag on their desk until I feel like replacing them.
Since they are cheap, I replace them 1-2 times a year. This means I can change up what is on the front and back to match what we are learning. My students can take the name tag around the room with them as they work and use it as a reference tool ALL the time.
That wasted space on the back is now meaningful. If you have flexible seating, students can move their name tags around and re-attach them to where ever they are sitting that day. I don’t know about you, but nothing warms my teacher heart more than seeing students use the reference tools available to them.
If you are on the fence about what type of name tags to use this year, I urge you to try out double-sided name tags and attach them with Velcro dots {affiliate link}! You won’t go back!
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