About
Alayna Kramer has been working with young people in a variety of capacities for over 25 years. She has been a babysitter, tutor, nanny, camp counselor, teacher, mentor, producer and also considers herself a children’s “Edutainer.” Alayna was born and raised in Oakland, California and moved to New York City for eleven years where she earned her Masters Degree in Education and had amazing adventures.
Alayna lives in Oakland with her husband and pooch. She loves exploring all the nature of the East Bay parks and is working on becoming the best Auntie ever to Yvette, Oscar and Owen.
Teaching
Alayna knew she wanted to be a teacher once she learned she was going to be a big sister. One Christmas, her uncle gave her a blackboard and her two (mostly willing) sisters became her pupils. “Playing school” became her favorite game.
In 2000, Alayna earned her B.A. in Sociology along with a Women’s Studies minor at Mills College in Oakland, Ca.
In 2006, Alayna earned her M.S.Ed at The Bank Street College of Education in New York City.
Alayna has a deep commitment to progressive education. She melds the practices of Pratt, Waldorf, Montessori, Dewey, and Reggio to name a few into her own unique style. She is passionate about the importance of play for early learners and uses social studies as the core of her curriculum. Do, make, learn are words that inspire her teaching and approach in the classroom.
Over the years, Alayna has taught ages 2-12 at:
Village Kids Nursery School
BoCoCa Preschool (2s Parent Cooperative)*
The RAD School (Ages 7-10 Parent Cooperative)*
* At these Parent Cooperative schools, Alayna, along with one assistant, were the sole teachers. They developed all curriculum, designed classroom spaces, outlined school protocols and organized presentations for parent education.
Edutaining
Alayna has always loved performing. She began turning her hairbrush into a microphone at a very young age. She was an avid member of several theater ensemble casts during her time at Bishop O’Dowd High School. She landed a starring role on Columbia University’s soap opera, “Furnald” while attending Barnard College for a year as a visiting scholar.
In NYC, Alayna also played “Farmer Alayna” in a six month tour with the “Super Sprowtz.” Along with various veggie puppets, Alayna performed shows all around the city including Lincoln Center. Their message was to get children excited about eating healthy and getting exercise.
Alayna has created her own brand of Edutainment and describes it as, “When learning and fun turn into one!” As Ms. Alayna, she works to combine stories, music, and movement into her own “Kids Kabaret.” She performed at various venues in New York City and brought these shows to the Bay Area, including Children’s Fairyland.
Producing
Alayna spent four years hosting and producing closed-circuit television at the Mount Sinai Children’s Hospital. She coordinated talent, volunteers and created new show content for two daily, live and interactive shows. She worked with puppets, visiting celebrities and fostered philanthropic relationships with many donors to the program.
Using her background as a teacher, Alayna designed game shows that were not only entertaining, but incorporated subject matter typical of the elementary grades. Many of the children playing the games from their hospital beds would spend extended periods of time at the hospital and out of school.
Alayna pioneered a program where the long term patients could design their own game shows. This was an opportunity for children to learn on both sides of the television screen. It was also considered a “psychosocial intervention” as it inspired patients to teach about something that interested them, follow through with a long term project and connect them with others facing similar isolation. Patients would run tech, design questions and decide on fonts and graphics for the show. These young patients had fun, shared their knowledge and gained confidence. Alayna presented this work at the Child Life of Greater NY Conference in 2011.
Alayna’s time at Kid Zone TV left an indelible mark on her.
