Cameras as Homeschool Tools: 10 Great Ideas
-by Mimi Rothschild
Most households have a digital camera nowadays, in our phones if nowhere else. We don’t have to worry about wasting film, having pictures developed, or any of the other complexities of traditional cameras. So let’s make best use of these handy tools for homeschool learning!
- Take cameras with you on nature walks and city strolls. Take photos of architectural details, interesting signs, or insects and make books and displays.
- Take pictures of cloud formations each day and post them along a wall, in your family blog, or in a notebook. Add the daily weather report or temperature, if your students are old enough. Sort them by types of clouds or by the weather that went with them, and bring them into your science lesson.
- Take pictures of the meals you cook together and use them to make a family cookbook, whether digital or paper. This can give kids great practice with writing and math (measuring ingredients, writing out the recipes, etc.) and the final product can be a very special gift for Mother’s Day or Christmas.
- Take step-by-step pictures showing a process you’re studying, whether it be tying shoes or planting a garden. Write out captions that explain the process.
- Go in search of letters, and photograph all 26 of them for a special alphabet book. You could also photograph things that begin with each letter sound, to go with the letter photos.
- Photograph different times of day at your house for studying daily schedules and time. For example, have a picture of the family getting ready in the morning, one of the kids studying, another of Dad coming home from work, and one of the family at dinner. Print out photos and let your little ones put the pictures in order for sequencing practice. Then let kids match them with clock faces showing the usual times for these activities.
- Take pictures of big art projects or special hands-on activities like plays and science experiments. Keep the photos in paper or digital albums and don’t worry about saving (and storing!) the big projects themselves.
- Make photo stories. Use action figures or dolls to act out historical events or stories from the Bible, snapping a photo of each tableau you set up. Put them together with paragraphs explaining the events.
- Make photo maps. Plan the map of a state, town, historical landmark, or perhaps of a place you plan to visit on vacation. Decide what kinds of images you need to illustrate the map. Take the planned pictures, shrink them down, and add them to your map. If you have the technical skills (or your students do) you can do this with Google Earth for a really fancy digital map.
- Take photos of your family every 30 minutes, and analyze the photos to determine how you’re using your time. Such pictures can not only reveal areas of stewardship of time that you might want to rethink, but also can show habits you might like to change. Are the kids snacking in most pictures? Are there signs of squabbling or inattention? This activity can lead to useful heart searching.
These are just ten of the ways you can use your camera to liven up lessons. Once you start, many more will occur to you. I suggest joining (free) www.gloryLane.com where you can create a personal family profile and upload your photos to share with other members of this Online Christian Community.
“**********************************************************
Mimi Rothschild is the Founder of LearningByGrace.org the nation’s leading provider of online PreK-12 online Christian educational programs for homeschoolers.
Of course, what a fantastic site and informative posts, I will add backlink – bookmark this web site? Regards, Reader.