Give kids a generous wad of play-doh. Tell kids to shape and mold the first letter of their name. Give them ample time to roll and squeeze the play-doh as much as they like until the letter looks just as they want it to. Repeat with the following letters of each child's name.
Encourage kids to fasten on and take off their own jackets. While this maybe harder for kids who have jackets with tiny buttons and tricky zippers and easier for kids with large buttons and simple zippers, get kids used to trying to do it themselves. Be there to help, guide and offer encouraging words.
Show kids how you hold a pencil in a "tripod grip." For example, skillbuildersonline.com online asserts that the pencil should be pinched between your thumb and index finger and resting on your middle finger. Ask kids to imitate you and praise them when they do so accurately.
Give kids very simple tracing worksheets that ask them to trace straight, zig-zag and curved lines. Give kids ample time to complete these worksheets, and praise them when they do.
Give each child a piece of printing paper: this paper has wide horizontal lines with a dotted line stretching across the middle. Teach kids to print in "families" of letters. Show them first the "counter-clockwise family" letters: a, c, d, g, o, s and e. Show kids that to make these letters your hand make a movement in the opposite direction of a clock. Allow kids to practice these letters until they feel confident about making them.
Teach kids the clockwise family, when you feel they have sufficiently mastered the counterclockwise family. These letters are: m, n and r. Give children a couple days to practice printing these letters, and review the counter-clockwise family.
Show kids the "clockwise extension family" which are the letter h, k, p and b. Allow kids a couple days to practice those letters and to review the letters they've already learned.
Teach kids the "v and u family" which are all letters that are similar to each other: u, v, w and y. Show kids the movement you use to make each letter with your hand. Have kids imitate you. Let them practice for a couple days before moving on to the next family.
Show kids the "straight family" which are letters: i, j, l and t. These letters should be easy for children to make as they should have experience drawing or tracing straight lines. Give kids as much time as they need to practice making the letters.
Show kids how to make the "odd family of letters" which are f, x and z. Take your time with each letter as you demonstrate it on the board as the hand motion for each one is different. Give kids as much time as they need to practice the letters.