On Tuesday, May 17th, the entire student body of Rawai Park School had a special treat, an all-day field trip! You can imagine the uncertainty of wondering how the weather would be, but thankfully, the day dawned with beautiful weather, and it remained so all day; there was no repeat of the torrential rains we have been having of late.
The student body with attendant teachers loaded up in vans to go to the cinema at Central Festival to watch the thrilling fantasy movie, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which they thoroughly enjoyed
Once the movie was finished, we loaded back up in vans to go to the park for a wonderful, delicious picnic, glorying in the marvelous weather and enjoying the park environment with its wide-open spaces and play areas.
This was followed by what turned out to be the highlight of the day. You see, teacher Nastassja, besides being a loving and gifted teacher, is a professional photographer who loves photography and is marvelously equipped to not only take pictures but to impart her love and skill to others, even very young ones.
So, the next activity was a fitting follow-up to the magical movie by going on a photo walk through the magical old town of Phuket. Nastassja had been able to educate and inspire the students to take pictures of what they were seeing.
Photography for kids – Lesson to learn
Grip
Holding a camera isn’t just about grabbing the camera in whatever way is comfortable. A proper grip will help reduce camera shake while allowing easy access to the rest of the camera’s controls. Teach kids to wrap their bottom three fingers around the camera grip, with their index finger on the shutter and the thumb at the back. With larger cameras, the left hand should go under the lens to help support that weight. Another good grip tip for kids? Use the neck or wrist strap to avoid dropping the camera by accident.
Camera Care
Simply owning a camera is a lesson in itself — how do you care for that camera? Once a child has a camera, teach them how to care for the camera. Kids should be instructed not to drop the camera and to keep it in a safe spot when not in use. It’s a great idea to also teach kids to use a lens cloth to wipe the front. You should also show them how to charge the batteries and how to upload the photos to a computer.
Creativity
Children often have even their drawings and artwork graded in today's rigid academic schedule. Take a different approach with photography for kids. Let the child know that photography is about being creative and showing other people how you see. Encourage that creativity, even if it means breaking the “rules.” Tell them what you love about the photo. Then, instead of telling them what you hate about the photo, encourage them by using “what ifs.” For example, what if you laid on your belly to photograph that flower instead of standing over it? What if you placed the flower off to the side of the picture instead of in the center? Rather than criticizing, help them see the possibilities.
After picturing the unique buildings of old Phuket, they began to take portraits and stage pictures of themselves around the town. Their creativity and joy were very inspiring.
When the students returned home, they still had a little time, so they were taught an English lesson about Marvel movies, and also studied some of the cool phrases used in the movie they had just seen, with the teachers explaining their meaning to them.
And the fun didn’t end there. On Wednesday, there was a contest for the best picture and the Year 3 student won the prize! Congratulations, Y3! Well done!
All in all, it was a great, fun, and exciting day!
