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:
maria says
Lovely! I absolutely love photos taken by children, you get really a feel of the way they see the world:)
loops says
hi, we take lots of photos and have discovered the polaroid pogo printer which prints out little photos, that are sticky on the back! great for children to use to stick anywhere!
Red Ted Art says
oooh that sounds super fun! What a great idea (and would have made my homework book project faster to make!!)
And thanks Maria – have to say – I ADORE the photo of Pip Squeak laughing (right at the top)
camille says
the photographs look lovely, my children, especially my son who has his own camera, love photography. He has so many photos now I’m unsure what to do with them all, children have an amazing perspective. 🙂
Kerry says
There are some great pictures there how good is he! Fantastic xx
Red Ted Art says
I have to confess, I am unsure of what to do with MY own photos.. let alone the kids’! Eeek. Can you create a poster collage for him? Or make exercise book covers?
Red Ted Art says
Kerry – I am of course, VERY proud of his photos too – proud mamma moment!
cathy @ nurturestore says
I love the photo journal – great idea.
Red Ted Art says
Thank you Cathy, even with the “no photos today” days we had – and Red Ted especially enjoyed sticking them in his book and discussing the week!
Nicole says
We love the Wombat book – it is too funny! Love Red Ted’s photos and book too (and what a fun week!). Matthew has his own camera, an old digital one that doesn’t have a card, and will only hold about 20 pictures. I let him do what he wants with it (he has access to it anytime) and he has come up with some beautiful, some hilarious, and some kind of strange photos, lol. 🙂 I made him a simple little book (3-ring notebook with colored paper in it) to glue his pictures into (the select few that I print out for him), but never thought to add in journaling – what a wonderful idea!!
Red Ted Art says
Oooh that reminds me.. I have an old old digital camera too. I could “hand that over”
Love that you print out the photos and put them in a note book! Fabulous! I bet he loves it!
Deb @ Living Montessori Now says
Great ideas for photography for kids! I had a post last week on Montessori-inspired photography for kids, so I added it to the linky! Thanks for hosting the link-up each week! 🙂
Jamie @ hands on : as we grow says
That is priceless Maggy! What an incredible way to document a time period – from your child’s eyes!
mermaid says
I also love the photo journal idea!
I have to admit that I have been thinking of letting my daughter take some photos as well.. but I always think.. well next time.. and then.. next time 😀
You’ve pushed me to do it now. So when in the future my daughter is a famous photographer I`ll think of you 🙂
Christy says
Fantastic! We got R a little (very inexpensive) camera for her preschool graduation and she loves to take pictures. We love that book too!
Red Ted Art says
Hooray! Hope you all start taking more photos! Found that Pip Squeak (19mths) now wants to have a go too! Imagine.. I will need another iphone just for the kids 😉
Esther says
What a wonderful way to treasure the moments! My daughter loves photography. She used to take pictures with a small digital camera. Sometime back, something went wrong with the camera and then on I didn’t give her cameras. May be it’s time to buy her a new camera.
Anna @ The Imagination Tree says
His photo book is wonderful! and I know it takes a lot of hard work from you too, so well done! We used to get our Reception kids to photograph their own work/ lego models/ playdough creations etc, print them out and stick them into their own books and “annotate” in their own way. It was a wonderful way for them to document their own learning!
Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas says
So fun Maggy! My youngest loves to take photos – she has her own camera after fighting with me over mine too many times 🙂
I LOVE looking at her pictures and seeing what she feels is picture worthy! It usually involves very up close & personal pictures of things and they never fail to make me smile and often laugh out loud!
I love the idea of this journal and you have just inspired me to begin a project of my own.
I am going to buy a notebook for each of my girls and let them keep a summer journal – using pictures they take for themselves! I am so excited!
I love visiting your blog – I never fail to leave with some inspiration!
Bernadette
Jen Green says
Wow! What a fantastic project. It’s exciting to hear about a parent encouraging a child to explore mediums, and stick to projects from start to finish, including displaying results. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
Red Ted Art says
Anna – thank you for your kind words – yes.. was prob just as much work for me as it was for him.. 😉 he loves looking at his journal now though. He pretends he doesn’t.. but he does! Will be doing it again!
And Bernadette – HOORAY will be a great project for the summer. And a great keepsake too! Go you. And thank you so much for saying you always leave inspired – BEAM!
Jude says
I love the idea of photography for kids, and even bought a kids digital camera for my elder son, but it has games on it, and ironically he mainly uses it for that! He does enjoy making videos with it though.
Red Ted Art says
Ah yes, my son would always play the games more too.. but I guess so long as they have a go at the camera every so often…
se7en says
Oh we love “the diary of a wombat!!!!” And my kids are photography obsessed – don’t know where they get it from!!!! I love your holiday diary – fab idea!!!
The Iowa Farmer's Wife says
Love all the pictures!!! Such a fun idea!
Catherine says
Great idea & great photos Red Ted! A future career perhaps? 😉 I remember doing something similar with Nursery children a few years ago. It’s such a great way to observe their interests & see the world from their perspective.
artsy_momma says
Yikes! Sorry for the multiple same entries…. it gave me an error message so I hit the back button.
I think it would be fun to make a scrapbook of my son’s photos that he takes himself.
Janelle says
I’ve never heard the term busker before. I learned something new from Red Ted’s project, too!
Julie says
Love it! It’s been a long time since I’ve linked up. We’ve been so busy! Hopefully I’ll be linking up soon.
Emma says
What a great idea! Some wonderful photographs there too! Emma 🙂
Amy @ Hope Is the Word says
This is fantastic! Diary of a Wombat looks hilarious. Thanks so much for linking up to RAT!
JDaniel4's Mom says
What a wonderful idea! I am thinking about getting JDaniel a camera for Christmas.
MummyMummyMum says
Brilliant idea! My kids have just filled up the memory card in their camera, I must have a look at the pictures this weekend. x
Aly says
This has given me an idea. We’re doing days of the week too.I think a day to chart with a photo of what she does on that day will help.She uses my iphone really well and loves taking photos.
Red Ted Art says
Oooh perfect Aly!
Isil says
Lovely photos.
Thanks for linking up to Book Sharing Monday 🙂
Debbie says
Through the eyes of a child:
The world really is in continual motion.
Just wonderful!
Michelle Willow says
Picture diary? Hmmmm, that’s an awesome idea! I’m planning to get a kid tough camera for little one’s birthday and than we can play around with this! 🙂 Thanks for adding this idea to High paw, Maggy!
Anne@LittleSproutBooks says
Thanks for linking up at Feed Me Books Friday! What a fun way to keep a journal! My son has the vtech kidizoom camera – very durable, kid friendly and fun! You may want to check it out with your young photographer!
Jen says
My kids would take way more than 2-3 pictures per day. lol.
Red Ted Art says
Mine do now too!!!