Category: STEM

Classic Tech in the Modern Classroom

10/4/2017

An Ode to the Old School, and the enduring awesomeness of the Clunky Overhead Projector

An email appeared in my inbox on Monday advertising “tablets and computers designed for children as young as 2 years old!” 🙄🤦‍♀️

I’m sure the kids will love them. People will buy them. They’ll imagine toddlers getting a jump start on careers as budding software engineers and brilliant coders because they were exposed to technology at a young age - and it’s labeled age appropriate, and made by experts, so what could be wrong?

Our job as educators, formal or informal, is to help equip children to function successfully in the world around them. There’s no denying that technology is an important part of that world. I love technology and it has a place in our lives in our children's lives.

BUT (you knew there was a “but” coming)... the neurological hard-wiring of the human brain has not evolved at the same rate as our technology. Its place in a classroom with children under 10 is, in my opinion, questionable. Technology is far more prevalent and sophisticated than it was 50 or 100 years ago, but the cognitive learning process of the 2017 kid remains essentially the same as 1967 kid or the 1917 kid.
So today, we look backwards to go forwards! We bring some 1917 and 1967 technology back into the classroom…

3 Comments

Material Must-Haves!

8/15/2017

1 Comment

Happy Wednesday! Danielle here. This is a list of my top five Material Must-Haves in any early childhood classroom. These materials make my life so much easier and ultimately save my class and school money.
Note: we do not receive any commission for these recommendations, they’re just products we love, and links to places we found them at a good value.

Reusable Dry Erase Pockets
These are the best! Forget having to laminate EVERYTHING your students use, just slip a sheet of paper in one of these and they’re ready to go. Organize them by student or by topic, just slide the new sheets in front of the old (or use double-sided). Sturdier than a sheet protector, more portable and versatile than a dry-erase board.

In addition to student use, I like to pin them up (with the grommet at the top) to use for erasable class signs like "There are __ days until Thanksgiving!" I also use them in place of a folder sometimes, to store sheets or activity-prep materials together, easily see what's inside, and label it without using up a post-it every time I change the contents. Also sold (sometimes more cheaply) as shop tickets.

Multicolor

Monochromatic

Dry-erase markers

1 Comment

Welcome!

8/8/2017

2 Comments

Welcome to Monkey Business, the Bitty City Blog!
Teaching and growing creative kids ages 1-10.

We’re Caroline and Danielle, co-founders of Bitty City Players. We are both New York City teachers with theater backgrounds, who feel that some of the fundamental rules of theater and improv like, “Yes...and”, “Listen and Respond”, and “Acting is doing” apply perfectly to the classroom as well.

Based upon our experiences in the classroom, both as teachers and as students, we know that engaging in hands-on, brains-on, put-your-whole-self-in activities is the best way to connect to kids and get them excited about what they're learning. We deeply believe that dramatic play and sensory work are the most effective educational tools with young children and we incorporate both into our innovative theater and science curricula.

Caroline

Danielle

We want to keep joy and playfulness in our learning - in the classroom and at home.
If you’re a teacher or parent (or both!) or otherwise involved with the education of children 10 and under, we’re here for you!

You’ll hear plenty from us, but you will also hear from some of our fellow teachers and moms, activity specialists (in theater, science, OT, and more), and the occasional school administrator and guest artist.

On the Bitty City Blog (aka Monkey Business), you’ll find:

Tips and ready-to-go resources for early childhood and elementary teachers
Ideas to help kids embrace imagination and entertain themselves during downtime and waiting time.
Original songs for lessons and transition times
Favorite books and materials for different age groups
Resource lists - online and offline.
Practical advice for communicating with teachers, parents, administrators, and students.

Our goal for each blog post (every other Wednesday - sometimes a little more often) is to support you and make life a little easier and more fun.

We can’t wait to share our ideas and hear yours! We look forward to your feedback, questions, counterpoints, suggestions, additions, or whatever you’ve got. Our aim is to create a supportive and helpful community. To that end, all respectful discussion is welcome in the comments, and we will do our best to read and respond to your comments promptly.

As we enjoy the precious last weeks of summer, and prepare for the start of another exciting school year, we want to inspire and motivate you to keep thinking out of the box, and bring joy and magic into the classroom - and every room!

Want more Bitty City? Curious about our Dramatic Artists, Science Explorers, or Sensory Players programs, our After School Classes and NYC PreK Workshops? Planning a Party or a vacation Camp?

Check out our site, subscribe to our monthly newsletter (it’s short and full of cute pictures and bonus resources), say hi via email, add our blog to your RSS feed, follow us Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest, like us on Facebook. Heck, give us a call!
And of course…

We’ll see you again next Wednesday!

Playfully Yours,
Caroline and Danielle