Kids Crafts: Photography for Kids

Hello hello hello! I am very excited about today’s kids get crafty: photography for kids! It is was all inspired by Red Ted’s “homework book” he has at nursery, which suggested we “record his holiday” for him to share once back at nursery next week. Already loving photography I thought – yes, let’s get Red Ted to take all the photos! And we have a lovely book for you at the bottom of the post too!

The “Craft” – Photography for Kids

Red Ted (3yrs) loves taking photos.. here is some he has done already (click on photo to see more):

When we do things, learning is a happy outcome… and these are some the things Red Ted may have learnt about a little this week:

• Learnt about the days of the week, as well as months, as we bridged May/ June
• Practised telling stories
• Learnt about taking photos
• Explored a “new medium”
• Explored *some* letters found in the days of the week

We used my iphone camera – as that is easy for Red Ted to hold and press the release button – remember he is only 3 years old and it is early days in his photography exploration. When he is a little older, we will revisit this idea and maybe have a go with my digital camera.

Tips:

• Use a light weight digital camera with a big screen that is easy for children to hold and for them to see what they are photographing
• Find something they are interested in (e.g. below we have a busker)
• Talk about who they can show the photos they are taking and how they can share their day that way with someone special (in our case Granny and The Englishman)
• Talk to them about what they can see on the screen – is everything inside the picture or have they cut something off
• Show them the difference between a “steady photo” and a “wobbly one” – maybe even experiment
• Print some of their photos off and say “you took this, well done”! Seeing their own photos in print does wonders!!!
• Let them experiment
• Don’t pressure (too much)
• Lead by example – take photos yourself, show them to the children and discuss what you can see
• As with “grown up” photos – take LOTS of photos and select the best!

Interestingly we had days on which he LOVED taking photos and days on which he HATED it. I tried not to pressure him to take them and took photos myself too. There is one photo where I held the phone and he pressed the button – the one of Grandpa looking into the tent. All the others he took all by himself. Our Photo Diary started on a Friday:

Friday 27 May:

Both children go to nursery on a Friday. When they got home, we had our “daily strawberry” treat directly from the garden.

Saturday 28 May:

We finished our International Postcard swap cards and posted them.

Sunday 29 May:

We played lots of Lego with Daddy and Pip Squeak. In the afternoon we went looking for frogs, but found swans, cygnets and windmills!

Monday 30 May:

We went to Granny and Grandpa’s house. Red Ted didn’t want to take ANY photos to today & only did under duress… the second photo, I held the iphone and Red Ted pressed the button…

Tuesday 31 May:

We had a wonderful day in town, making Pizza with My Daddy Cooks. Red Ted was not interested in photos at all today… until… we saw a busker on the way home. He was TOTALLY fascinated and wanted to photograph him for Granny. He was too shy to get closer. Once he took the busker photos.. the “floodgates” where open and he took photos of the tube, mummy and a dog!

Wednesday 1 June:

I forgot all about our daily photo.. until Red Ted reminded me whilst playing with Anna’s play dough and cake stand (our playdate with The Imagination Tree). Red Ted hastily took one picture and then no more!

Thursday 2 June:

We got crafty in the garden (post to follow next week!) and Red Ted also took a photo of his ball!

Friday 3 June:

More nursery. More strawberries. Learning about “baby strawberries” and how to make a bed for them… and our blueberry bush finally arrived!

For his homework book, we cut out “days of the week” and all the photos and Red Ted stuck them in. I added some text and he added some beanstalk drawings. As you do.

The Book

Diary of a Wombat, Jackie French.

This is a rather cute book about the Australian Wombat and what it does all day… an excerpt:

Monday:

Morning: Slept

Afetrnoon: Slept

Evening: Ate Grass

Scratched

Night: Ate Grass

As you may have gathered.. it is a simple, slow and lovely book.. with a little bit of humour thrown in – especially when it comes to training and interacting with humans… Red Ted loves it and giggles at the “scratch the really itchy bit” bits… A great way to talk about other countries, creatures and of course the days of the week! Love.

For more Kid’s Craft ideas, click here for a full list.

If you have been crafty with your kid’s be it at home, in the kitchen or outdoors, I would love for you to link up: