School Age Program

July 2023

Photography summer camp: This month at Westmount the children have been exploring photography in many different ways. They have learned new ways of storytelling and expression as well as discovering the indoor and outdoor environment in a new perspective.

We started off the week by making a list of what the children already knew about photography and what they wanted to learn more about. They also came up with a list of things they wanted to photograph. We talked about how to hold and use different types of cameras and had lots of time to practice.

Dawson had the idea to create habitat scenes with the plants, animal toys, blocks and other materials he could find in the room. Together with some of the children they created a large habitat and named it “all habitat zoo” they photographed the animal toys from different angles to make them appear larger and life-like. The children continued adding to their creation throughout the week and continued following week. They then decided to create a stop motion movie! They used the tripod with the camera so it stayed in the same spot as they moved the animals a little bit in between each photo.

We explored the outdoor environment by having a photography scavenger hunt. The children practiced taking photos of landscapes, portraits, action shots, close ups and more! The children enjoyed taking pictures of each other doing different poses and taking “behind the scenes” shots as well. The children had so much fun coming up with new ideas to photograph and have been continuing using their new skills in our day to day routines. Now, instead of taking pictures from an adult's perspective the children insist on taking photos on their own. This creates a whole new meaning when documenting because it allows us to see the world through a child’s perspective. We documented all our photos by hanging them in our room and on our bulletin boards.

Alesha Spirka, RECE