by Veronica Carter, Foundation Stage Co-ordinator, Camelsdale First School

A New Toy for me to Play With

I have just ordered a digital camera for use in my Reception Class. At a mere £50 it is sure to have its limitations but I am more interested in investigating its potential – just what could a digital camera do for me and my children?

An Instant Record

Memorable moments are always worth recording with a photograph but imagine being able to instantly hook the camera up to the computer and see that picture! Better yet, how about sending a copy of that picture home to the family either as an email attachment or by printing it out? With no costs involved with taking the pictures the children can experiment with taking pictures themselves to their hearts content, deciding for themselves what constitutes a ‘memorable moment’.

Such photographs would make a good basis for a portfolio of work or for showing parents how we work.

Photographs can also be useful in the different work areas to show what might be done there. How about a photograph in the art area showing one child helping another to put on their apron or one in the graphics area of a child making a greeting card?

In the construction area photographs could be used to give inspiration as to what might be built – a picture of a garden centre trolley or a local bridge. Photographs of local buildings could be used to inspire some junk modelling.

Developing a sense of time and place

Photographs can be used to show the passage of time such as a time line of a typical day. Plant some seeds and make a photographic diary of their growth. Photograph the playground at different times of the year so as to show the seasons. Take regular photographs of a local building site and see the work progress over time.

Photographs of different areas around your setting, inside and out could form the basis of a picture hunt when getting the children familiar with the place

Familiar objects from around the setting could be photographed from above and from a more normal view to make a matching game as a way of introducing the idea of plan view.

Getting creative

Photographs of the children could be used to support the painting of self-portraits as well as having a mirror to hand, or have the children photograph flowers or a particular view to inspire their artwork!

A set of photographs of the children could be used in many different ways. Add their picture to any computer work that is to be printed out or stick them onto the front of a child’s book or next to their work, which is on display.

All in all, it makes me begin to wonder how I have got by without one up until now!