Getting closer... To Through the Eyes of the Child project kicking off

The photo project that popped into my head in January is just about ready to go live... with a few weeks left in March to register and then the month of April to be able to take photos with the children and talk about their meaning, reflect and make a decision as to which one should be uploaded and shared with the world... and importantly WHY that photo was chosen BY THE CHILDREN...

this is about the children... about learning to listen to their ideas, the way they see the world. This is about making visible the children's thoughts and what they view as important.

Of course in a way it is NOT just about the children... to be honest it is about the adults working with the children too... as it is an opportunity for them to  test out using photography as a language of communication with the children. It is a way of developing a process of listening to the children and allowing their images to shine, regardless of whether the teacher/adult at first understands the point of the photograph. The idea of this project is that it will encourage the teachers/adults to take the time to understand them from the child's perspective rather than their own adult perspective.

Here is a link to Through the Eyes of the Child blog - there are some posts about using photography with young children and a few links too.
Maybe not so many posts as I was hoping for... But sometimes life is just busier than you expect. I am hoping that once the project kicks off there will be a natural need and interaction with others that will feed the post writing. After all this is a process for me too.

There is also a facebook page connected to the project... hopefully a place where particpants can also meet and share their process... and be a community of learners together - children and teachers/adults.

so far this group as been mostly interested in taking photos of things they see and things that they have done... after all they have watched me document their work for the last year. Here the child is taking a photo of me, she also took a photo of a parent with us on the trip.

visiting the Royal Palace was a big thing for these children... previously the children have not been that interested in using the camera... their focus has been on play, and taking photos seems to have got in the way of their play. This day there was MUCH more interest in using the camera. Having the hand through the loop is essential. One child dropped the camera whilst outside, but fortunatley the loop prevented the camera from smashing to the ground... so it DOES work. I would rather like the kind of loop they have on wii controls, that tighten, as these loops are BIG for little hands.

and taking photos of their work continues to be the most important purpose of the camera, for most of the children

some guidance has been necessary... not to put fingers on the "eye" of the camera (the lense) and also not to much the camera up onto wet paint!!!