When children arrive at school, have them move their name in whatever way is appropriate that month. They get SO excited to see what the new attendance chart is each month.
This makes the attendance easy to see for both the teachers and children. We use this info for our morning message each day.
Monthly Themes:
August/September: name into school
October: candy corn into bag
November: leaf into basket
December: gingerbread into gingerbread house
January: snowflake into snowman
February: vale