Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Room Names

    Posted 11-16-2020 04:20 PM
    Good afternoon!

    I hope all of your are going well and finding blessings to celebrate as we prepare for Thanksgiving.  I work at a PK3-12th grade school and we are launching a new program in August focusing on infant-2 year olds.  What fun room names do you all use for the different age groups?  For example, the "Busy Bees" may be the 18 month old room and students moving into the 2 year old room become the "Colorful Caterpillars", or something like that.  Just looking for some inspiration.

    Thank you and be well!
    -Dawn

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    Dawn Wilson
    Head of Lower School
    St. Andrew's Episcopal School
    Jackson MS
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  • 2.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-17-2020 06:23 AM
    Hello,
    For our little one's classrooms, we used fun candy names like Skittles, Starburst, Jellybeans, etc. We have also named classrooms using "Science" words like Explorer's, Adventurer's, Navigator's, Voyager's, etc. We liked having them in a category and then coming up with the names that matched how they experienced the world around them. Hope this gives you some idea. Good Luck!

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    Corinne Huisenga
    Owner
    Cori's Kidz Childcare, Inc
    Maplewood MN
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  • 3.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-17-2020 10:53 AM
    Hi Dawn,

    I teach Kindergarten. I call my students Shining Stars, another teacher calls her Rockets, Wonders, Little Monsters. Hope this helps! 

    Thank you,

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    Emily Crawford
    Kindergarten Teacher
    Fairfax County Public Schools
    VA
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  • 4.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-18-2020 04:29 PM
    Whatever name you choose should be positive and respectful. I don't think Little Monsters fits in this category, do you? Not even in jest.

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    Susan Smith
    Director
    Heart and Hands Montessori
    Lafayette CO
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  • 5.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-17-2020 12:49 PM
    I suggest something with one word like bumblebees, butterflies, etc.

    Heart and Hands Montessori
    Center for Infants and Toddlers

    office: 303-444-0181
    cell:    720-217-2359
    susan@heartandhandsmontessori.com
    www.heartandhandsmontessori.com





  • 6.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-17-2020 01:51 PM
    Hi All
    I was an administrator of one program, where the classrooms were painted white, but had all the primary colors as a chair rail around the room.  And teachers used the names 'Blue Room', 'Yellow Room".   This suggestion is somewhat limited to the number of classrooms.
    In a lab school program,, the teachers went by 'Infant'  "Toddlers" etc.  
    I like Susan's ideas.  However, I would add  that  classroom names  needed to with a different letter.  This supports children's awareness of print and supports reading of the name.  The Daisy Room, Butterfly Room, etc.
    A truly child centered program would have the children deciding on the name of the room (perhaps voting on the names)    
    Hope these ideas add to what has been previously shared.

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    Deborah Moberly
    President
    Children 1st
    University Cy MO
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  • 7.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-20-2020 01:24 PM
    My center serves predominately African American children. I have named all of the classrooms after HBCUs - Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This is to inspire our children to continue their education and never stop learning. We teach them about the different schools and their origins. A couple of years ago, our city hosted a Classic - a football game between two of our classroom names:  Bethune-Cookman University and Howard University. Our children went to the Classic parade and showed school pride!
    Just a suggestion - even Ivy League schools or colleges universities in your State or area would be cool. Aim high!

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    Diana Gardenhire
    Executive Director
    Mount Zion Academy
    Indianapolis IN
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  • 8.  RE: Room Names

    Posted 11-18-2020 10:51 AM

    A cautionary tale: one year we were experiencing some friction around younger children perceiving their classroom name wasn't as desirable as the older PreK's (no doubt the older PreK's fanned the flames on this issue.)

    In a highly democratic fashion, we teachers thought it would be both fair and educational to build a ritual around group naming into the beginning of year traditions; each group would go through a process to discuss and determine their group name for the year. 

    The students loved this idea, and enjoyed the process thoroughly, though we had to vet some pretty weird ideas. 

    The hitch in the plan? Adult brains. We couldn't shift from year to year, our brains were stuck on the old names and we kept getting it wrong. Of course it was a great joy for the kids to constantly correct us, but we were mired in an unproductive process.

     

    Advice: think of names that are easy (not too many syllables) but hard to ascribe hierarchical value to.



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    Karen Lefkovitz
    Independent Consultant
    Philadelphia PA
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