In the middle of March, when fatigue begins to be felt among the students, a kindergarten teacher decided to break the routine. His idea? Offer your students a slightly different day, where everyone could change their first name.
An activity to boost motivation
Jordan Lake, a 29-year-old American teacher, explains that he felt a drop in energy in his class at this time of year. As he told People: “We were in that time of March where there aren’t a lot of breaks, and the kids had just changed time, so I felt that their energy was diminishing a little.”. To revitalize his students, he therefore imagined an original activity: allowing everyone to choose a new first name for the day. Each child received a sticker with their new nameand the teacher engaged in calling them that all day.
A game but also an educational tool
Behind this fun moment was also an educational objective. “I knew it would give me very good insight intor their phonetics and writing skills »he explains to People. Without imposing strict rules, the teacher trusted his students: “I didn’t set a lot of formal rules… I trusted them to choose school-appropriate names, and They rose to the challenge perfectly.”. Result? An activity that was both fun and useful for learning, which also strengthened the cohesion of the group.
An experience that marked the children and their parents
Some first name choices even have a personal story. “Ochy†really stood out. Her mom commented explaining that it was a nickname she had when she was a baby, so it was very moving to see her take it back »says the teacher. Proof that the children took this activity seriously and gave it meaning. The teacher shared a clip of this experience on TikTok. The video, showing some first name labels, quickly met with wide success, with over 400,000 views. In the comments, many Internet users welcomed the idea. “Many of the comments were very touching, with people saying they wish they had had this kind of experience when they were kids.â€he confides.
“The hardest thing was not to make a mistake.”
Although the students loved it, the exercise was not so simple for the teacher. “The hardest part, honestly, was for me… I had to remember all the new names without making a mistake.”he says. “It was like the first day of school, with a whole new roster of students. “I made a few mistakes, but I apologized and corrected them, because I wanted them to really believe it.” Today, after several years of teaching, Jordan Lake remains convinced of the importance of creating a positive environment at school. “I pride myself on creating an engaging and joyful learning environment, where the students want to come every day »he explains. And he concludes, again with People: “Especially in preschool, I know that I am often their first experience of school, so I want them to associate learning with something positive.â€
