The Mom I Want to Be

 

Children practice their camera work with this snappy activity

 

a regular or digital camera
oak tag paper
glue sticks
notepad and pen
small labels
several books that highlight such photographers as William Wegman, Ansel Adams, and Ann Geddes, or books of Tana Hoban’s and Ann Morris’s works
variety of appropriate photographs from magazines like National Geographic, Smithsonian, or travel magazines
chart paper and marker
 
Developing Skills:
visual perception
aesthetic development
fine-motor
creative thinking
 
Write the question “Why do people like to take photographs?” on the top of a sheet of paper. Encourage your child to think about why people take photographs. When does he use a camera at school? When does he take photographs at home? Record his responses.
 
Introduce your child to photographs from various books and magazines. Encourage him to describe what he sees in each photograph. Explain that someone who uses a camera is called a photographer. Explain that he will have an opportunity to be a photographer
 
Discuss how photographers take pictures of different things, such as people, animals, nature, or objects. Give your child the option to take photographs inside or outside. Find out what your child may already know about using a camera. Provide him with any necessary additional information. Plan time to accompany your child on his “photo shoot.”
 
Precut oak tag paper for the mounting of photographs. Measure the oak tag so there will be at least a two-inch boarder around the photographs. Give your child his photographs and glue sticks. Assist him in mounting his photographs and writing names below them.
 
Create an exhibit of your child’s work. Invite other members of your family to the exhibit’s “opening.”