About Us

Brooklyn Doodles was founded in 2013 with the vision to celebrate the vibrancy, creativity, and diversity of Brooklyn through art enrichment. That vision started with one art class and a playgroup in Clinton Hill. In 2014, our program grew into a series of classes in various sections of Brooklyn and a playschool with 5 families. Today we have blossomed into a vibrant community; one that is rich in art immersion, full of hands-on experiences, and deep meaningful play.

Mission

Brooklyn Doodles is an early childhood program founded on the principles of the Reggio Emilia pedagogy, which encourages inquiry, independence, and engagement in play and arts based learning throughout the school day. Our mission is to cultivate an enrichment based environment driven by child-led activities and relationship building. The language of children is play and this is the central tenet of our program. It is our paramount goal that at Brooklyn Doodles your child will find learning an exciting adventure of growth and becoming.

“Children learn as they play. More importantly, in play, children learn how to learn.”
- O. Fred Donaldson

Philosophy

Education for young children should never lose sight of play, hands-on experiences, and social emotional learning as critical components of any early childhood curriculum. At Brooklyn Doodles, we create a nurturing and stimulating environment in which the child’s curious nature is respected and their creativity valued.

We believe each child is unique and we do our best to nurture the intrinsic gifts that each one brings to our classroom. Informed by a deep understanding of child development, our classes are designed to encourage and enhance children’s creative expression and cognitive development through exploration, documentation, reflection, and parent and community engagement.

Social Justice

Brooklyn Doodles has always been dedicated to fostering an environment of inclusivity- one that believes and acts on a principle that all members of our community are created equal and deserve respect. We will continue to work as a community to advocate for policies and practices that further equality and justice for all people. As an institution of learning, our work must be intentional, deliberate, and purposeful. This work manifests itself in the depth of curriculum and book choices that focus specifically on inclusion of all kinds. We will continue to seek out professional development opportunities to further inform our teaching, as we recognize that learning is ongoing throughout our lives. We share the common goal of creating compassionate and empathetic children who will be advocates for justice and peace.

Meet Our Teachers

Danielle Katz

Danielle is the founder and Executive Director of Brooklyn Doodles, and is responsible for the day to day operations, admissions, and strategic direction of the program. Danielle received her B.S. in International Business and Political Science and a M.S. in International Affairs at CUNY. She is currently pursuing her M.S. in Early Childhood Special & General Education at Bank Street College of Education. Danielle lives her dreams every day being able to work with young children.

Katie "Kat" Stevens

Kat joins our Brooklyn Doodles team this year as Ed Director and co-lead teacher. She has lived in Brooklyn for the past 18 years. Kat has her M.S. in Early Childhood and Special Education and has spent 8 years working at The Co-op School as a lead teacher in their 3s and prek classrooms. Kat has a passion for kids learning through inquiry and play, and has worked extensively on developing an anti-biased curriculum, which strives to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all learners.

Tatiana Prisco

Tatiana has worked at Brooklyn Doodles since 2018. She is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and currently lives in Bedstuy Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys baking, reading books, and animals. In her current role as senior assistant teacher, Tatiana can be found leading circle time, creating fun obstacle courses, and collaborating on process art projects in the classroom. Tatiana holds a Masters of Fine Arts and Education from The New School University.

Location

We are located at 39 Putnam Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, which is a diverse neighborhood located close to Pratt Institute, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, public libraries, parks, playgrounds, and community gardens.

Our newly renovated space has the capacity to accommodate a larger community for little learners to play, create and explore. We are easily accessible by public transportation: located between the Clinton Washington and Franklin stops on the C train, and the Classon Avenue stop on the G train.