It’s almost “back to school” time and teachers and students are counting down the days until they’re back in the classroom. For students, that’s often because of anxiety over starting a new year and not knowing their new classmates or anything about them. One way for teachers to ease that anxiety and start the year on a fun note is with a personalized name badge project.

For this, we recommend using clear name badge holders with lanyards. The student name tags should include their name (or nickname) and other creative representations of things they like, such as their favorite color, sport, food, video game or TV show – whatever they want to include that shows off who they are. The teacher can join in on the fun and make one for themselves too.

Once the students finish their personalized name tags, the badge can serve many purposes. First of all, it’s a nice reminder for a teacher that is trying to remember the names of all her new students and offers hints about how to connect with each one over shared interests. But even more importantly, it eases some of the first week jitters for students nervous about meeting all their new classmates. At first glance, they now know a fellow student’s name as well as the kinds of things they like to do for fun. That makes it easier to make new friends, getting the school year off to a great start. Student name badges also make it easier for school staff to recognize students and call them by name. The badges can also be used to enhance safety by indicating which bus or pick up line each student belongs in.