Through the pinhole
* Give each child a shoe box (minus the lid), ask them to paint the inside with thick black paint so that all the cardboard is covered, and write their name in pencil on the outside.
* Leave boxes to dry overnight.
* Cut a piece of tracing paper large enough to cover the open end of the box.
* Tape tracing paper securely to the sides of the box, so no light can slip between these edges and the rim of the box.
* With a pin, make a hole in the centre of the side opposite the tracing paper.
* To use the 'camera', hold the tracing paper side up to your face, with the pinhole pointing at the object. What can the children see on the paper? Does the picture look normal? The image will be upside down, as the pinhole camera works in a similar way to the human eye. When light enters the eye, it is upside down and the brain converts the image to the right way up. Explain to the children that this is just how a real camera works, although there is a reel of film where the tracing paper is.
Fleeting images
* Photograms are pictures produced on photographic paper without the use of a camera. To make one, you will need to be in a room with thick curtains and have a positionable desk lamp, photographic paper (available from specialist photographic shops), a variety of small objects such as combs, pencils, feathers, 2D plastic shapes, and a tray.
* Show the children the objects and explain that they can be used to make a photograph.
* Close the curtains. Lay a sheet of the photographic paper on a flat surface.
* Ask the children to choose an object and put it on the paper.
* Switch on the light and point it directly at the paper. Don't touch the paper or the object. Leave for several minutes.
* Turn the light off. Take the objects off the paper and you will find that the paper will be black, where the light shone on it, except for the white area where the objects were.
* The image will disappear and the whole sheet of paper will turn black quickly when it is again exposed to the light.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD
* Make zig-zag books recording a child's development - as a baby, walking, swimming, etc - or a child's family over several generations to develop their understanding of time and age.
* Develop children's observational skills with two simple and similar photographs - a child with and without shoes on. Can the children spot the difference?
* Record how children approach design and technology projects such as making a castle. Sequence and caption the photographs and make them into 'instruction manuals' for other children to follow. Try the same with recipes.
* Pin holiday snaps to a map to record the places that the children have visited.
* Take sets of photographs of visitors to the nursery and their implements - a doctor, medical bag, stethoscope and syringe; a chef, chef's hat, cooking utensils - and ask the children to sort the different sets.
* Develop children's knowledge of their neighbourhood by taking photographs of shops, schools, a doctor's surgery, police station, landmarks, etc.
* Create books using photos to record the growth of plants indoors and outdoors.
* Take photographs over the course of the year in the nursery garden and local area to help children to recognise the changes in the seasons.
* Use photographs of local outings to the shops and the library to help recall directions taken on the walk.
Physical development n Record events such as sports days for parents to talk about and enjoy reliving. n Make a book of photographs of warm-up exercises for children to follow.
* Take photos of children enjoying a variety of physical activities to remind them what they have learned and achieved.
* Take photos of the products of their fine motor skills to remind them of the models and other objects they have created. Use these to stimulate discussions and make comparisons with new work.
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
* Give children the freedom to take photographs that they feel are relevant to the nursery project that you are working on.
* Take photographs on visits and incorporate them into role play. For example, visit the bakery and set up a nursery bakers. Display the photographs where the children can examine them.
* Record visits by musicians, dancers and other artists and encourage children to refer to them during their free play.
* Encourage children to take photographs of their own creative work to put into their files. Record the process as well as the end result.
* Encourage the children to take photographs of each other at play and discuss them. Why did they take a particular photograph? What do they like/dislike about it?
