 Hurricanes and earthquakes and destroying countries and terrorism and more hurricanes... Yipes! Today we're offering a few ideas for helping kids handle some of those fears.
Talk of destruction and suffering are all around us, and inescapably all around our children. It's scary! Add to that all the things that might be lurking in the dark or under our beds - any time we cannot see something, or do not understand how it works or why it happens, or find ourselves in a new situation we cannot predict, we may feel fear or anxiety - at any age. Use Dramatic Play We like to use dramatic play to help children cope with fears that are unlikely to occur (what if aliens attack?), and talking and games to handle fears that are more in the sphere of possibility (what if a hurricane comes to get us?) We act out what might happen, with a silly or happy twist. One of our favorite books to introduce this particular dramatic play activity is Ed Emberly's Go Away Big Green Monster. Monsters aren't so scary when you think of them as a collection of silly pieces instead of one big creature. We like to have kids draw something they are fearful of, and then we work together as a group to figure out a way we could make that fear feel less scary.
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Happy Wednesday again! Caroline here with our go-to books as a basis for lessons full of creative play. Many of these are deservedly well-loved classics. They are my favorites because each one is so rich with possibility, in different ways for different age groups. At this point, I can't pass up an opportunity to explore with these books and I ONLY read them out loud to kids when I know we will have time to create our own imaginary worlds right afterwards 😍 They work well in small settings too, if you’re looking for some fun parent-child or family time activity.
 A great book for those very young and/or just beginning to grasp the concept of cooperative intentional dramatic play, use it as a jumping off point for a conversation about pretending, giving each child the opportunity to demonstrate for the class how to pretend that he/she is something else, or inviting the children as a group to pretend they are something - show me how a horse runs! Don’t forget to shake your horse tail!
Welcome to Monkey Business, the Bitty City Blog! |
 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:
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
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
Bitty City Players offers theater and science enrichment through after-school programs, in-school workshops, and events for ages 1-10 in NYC.
Learn more about the organization and our team here.
Learn more about the organization and our team here.
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