Photography Tips, Art, and Music
Art
Crafts For Small Kids
May 26th
Keeping small children occupied can be a full time job. Try utilizing crafts and creative play time to encourage recreational learning while keeping them entertained. Whether it’s one child alone or an entire group to keep busy, there are more things to get kids started in crafts than you’ll be able to choose from. Be sure to try to plan your activities based on the average age of the children. It will make the process much easier for everyone involved.
A safe and easy craft that kids tend to find fascinating is origami. There are many levels of origami from the incredibly simple to the advanced type of folding. Purchase gift wrap from a craft store or local big box store. It’s fun to let kids pick out the wrapping paper that they like. Even the local dollar or liquidation store will have plenty at a low price. Easy beginner origami can be found online with no trouble. Get involved by learning with your children as you go.
Paper plates have been a great craft accessory for years. Most of us can recall using them as children in school to make great things like masks or giant flowers. Supply kids with a stack of plates and additional decorative items like pipe cleaner, glue and markers. It’s always fun to see what children will come up with when set loose with a stack of great materials and their imagination.
Make use of those old egg cartons by giving them to the kids for crafts. An egg carton caterpillar is fun to create. Cut the egg carton so that there is an entire row of egg slots to form the caterpillar body. Use pipe cleaner for antenna and then go crazy decorating the body however you like. This is a great one for younger kids since it involves little cutting. Be sure to always supervise and assist small children with the use of scissors.
One craft idea that will always be timeless is making holiday or birthday cards by hand. There is something so special about receiving a home made card from a child that cannot be beaten by any store bought version. It’s a true keepsake that can be kept for many years as a part of a beautiful memory.
The options are virtually endless for crafts that are perfectly suited to smaller kids. Get them involved in reading by having them create their very own bookmarks. Use sturdy construction paper cut rectangular then let them do the rest with glitter, paint or beads. Have them make one in the style or theme of their favourite story. Pencil holders are also great and related to reading and writing. Decorate a can or wooden container tall enough to hold pencils. There really is no limit to what you can do.
It’s important to prevent kids from developing extreme tendencies for electronics and TV. While those things are fine in moderation, it’s necessary to keep the brain active and stimulated. Crafts for kids are both fun and results in some pretty neat stuff.
The Creative Art of Portrait Photography
May 18th
A portrait is all about the right balance between the mood and lighting effects for that perfect picture. Portrait photography is a creative form of art and needs patience, knowledge of lighting and other technical skills to make your good photograph for good memories. Portraits have become a passion among the rich and famous who mount their portraits in ornate frames to give a distinguished look to the living rooms, bedrooms, stairways and hallways.
If you want to have you portrait done, who has a good rapport and knows how understand and capture the true personality of their subject. A professional portrait photographer should be aware of getting the right balance between all the elements and possibly provide the subject with the natural settings as the most positive character trait of a subject shows through in a comfortable setting. Portraits can be best taken using natural light especially if the photographer is not too adept with creating the perfect studio effect/artificial lighting as it needs to be evenly distributed to prevent shadows around the face.
It is also advisable to use light backgrounds to emphasize the subject as these are believed to lend more character to the subject, especially if a serious pose is required and if the subject is wearing a dark garment, which will show up best against a light backdrop. The wrong choice of a background can give off a very undesirable effect to an otherwise attractive person in a portrait photograph and thus, photographers must beware of indiscriminately using just any old background or even a cluttered one.
To successfully run-through a portrait photo-shoot, the photographer must pay close attention to all things he or she may require for the event: e.g equipment, conversation starters, light beverage or snacks, music to help the subject relax etc. and treat the occasion with a professional but friendly approach to establish a natural trust and confidence in the subject for best results.
Planning Fun Activities for Kids
May 17th
When you are planning fun activities for kids you have to maintain a balance between fun and instruction while maintaining your sanity. That can be a feat, but it is doable.
With a little forethought, preparation and tenacity, you can come up with some fantastic activities that will have your kids scrambling back to their parents recounting the events of the day with excitement and joy.
What can be better for a teacher to hear than for a student to exclaim, “Guess what I learned in school today!”
1. Make it Interactive. Kids like things that are interactive. They like activities that
“talk back” to them. This is an important point to keep in mind when you are planning
activities for your classroom.
If you are just standing in front of the class lecturing your heart out, you may not be
making the impact you would like, at least not the impact you could make.
Engage your students. Ask questions, encourage discussion and debate, get them involved in the process and you will see a whole new world of learning opening up.
2. Keep it Hands On. If they can touch it, taste it, smell it and hear it, they are much more likely to learn it. Plan hands on activities that allow children to experience the lessons first hand.
Activities that engage their senses, get them moving and get them involved, will keep
them occupied longer and help them remember the lessons more readily.
3. Be Age Appropriate. Teenagers are probably not going to be interested in climbing all over a fire truck, but they might enjoy visiting a museum where they can handle fossils. Think about the age of the children you are teaching and plan activities that are appropriate for that age group.
Coloring seems to appeal to kids of all ages, so there are some activities that are
universal. When in doubt, talk with your kids and really listen to what they like, what
excites them and what they find intellectually stimulating.
4.Stay Within Your Means. If you have a room full of preschoolers and you are thinking
of going to a museum, you are going to need help! Know what you can and cannot do.
If you are planning an activity that will have your kids moving around, you may have
trouble controlling the situation if you try to go it alone. When in doubt, get some
help.
Ask parents to volunteer. But if you go beyond your means, you will be stressed out and no one is likely to have much fun and there certainly won’t be much learning going on!
5. Have Fun! This is the main thing to remember when you are planning fun activities for kids. Kids like to have fun! Plan activities that they will enjoy, that are interesting and creative.
If you are just standing there yammering away, you won’t make as much of an impact as you would if you created an activity that engaged their senses, involved them interactively and was fun.
Learning can be fun and when you put effort into planning activities for kids in the
classroom, you can teach, have fun and maybe even learn a few things yourself. After
all, even algebra can be fun when you are playing math baseball!
The Best Craft Ideas For Kids
May 15th
Craft making is a great way to spend time with your children or the entire family. It is also a great way to develop your kids’ creativity and interpersonal skills.
Craft making involves several types of work but is fun and enjoyable. Making crafts involve stylish designs. The ideas on what project to do are just endless, and there are also numerous magazines that can help you choose what you like to make. The craft for kids are simpler and normally consist of basic steps only.
Craft projects allow students to unleash their creativity and create something new. It can develop the interpersonal skills and develop motor skills in a child. It is a very effective way to teach children many things in life and this method is commonly adapted in many schools.
Some of the basic crafting projects that children can do in school are a homework bulletin board, buddy pens, school coin keeper and beady buddies. Other suggestions are backpack tags, wizard book box and CD locker magnets. You can also add the weekly reusable calendar, trading card folder and pencil wands. More >