Last month I made the 5 1/2 hour trip down to visit my sister and to take my nieces on a field trip - each one individually, which meant three field trips in two days. The first morning I took Laurie to a local botanical garden and scarecrow festival, then in the afternoon I took
Pun'kin Natashia to a local museum that had an exhibit of famous people from that area involved in film production (actors, producers, directors, etc). The second morning I took Paige to the botanical garden and scarecrow festival before starting the 5 1/2 hour drive back home.
My primary focus (besides having fun!) was to teach the girls about being observant, noticing things around them. So, to begin each field trip, I handed over my point & shoot digital camera and instructed them to take photos of any and all items they saw throughout the day in their favorite color. They could also take any photos of the gardens or scarecrows or museum exhibit. At 7-years-old the twins had not really taken a lot of photos and definitely had never been in charge of the camera. Laurie alone took 600+ photos in five hours as she was intent on capturing every detail at the botanical gardens. Paige captured 250+ photos, including about 15 self-portraits she took by holding the camera at arms length in front of her. Natashia also captured 250+ photos, and I was so impressed with her offer (as a teenager) to turn off her cell phone so we could enjoy our time together without interruptions!
Today I'm sharing ten images with you from these field trips. I'm planning a special project with the girls when they come to visit later this week, so I created collages of some of their photos (with special thanks to
Alexa who shared the 9-photo grid page template earlier this year). These first two show Laurie's photos of
her our favorite color - yellow. My favorite is the the bottom left on the first collage - she was sitting in the middle seat in the back seat and noticed my yellow purse straps flopped over the console, so she snapped a photo.
These next two collages show Paige's green photos. My favorite here is in the middle on the right of the second collage - again while I was driving, Paige decided to snap a photo of the green ruffle on her own shirt.
These last two collages show Natashia's purple photos. We discovered that purple is a much less prevalent color than yellow and green, but she took up the challenge and did a great job. My favorite here is the drama mask in the first collage - she spotted the purple streak through the eyes on a sign mounted on a building we were passing.
I had called the girls before heading out for my trip, so I knew their favorite color ahead of time and brought along a shirt in each color. These next three photos show me with each of the girls wearing their favorite color on our outings.
And, one more image to make an even ten for Shimelle's Ten on the Tenth. This was my favorite exhibit at the scarecrow festival.
what a great idea! Those girls are so lucky to have you for an aunt!
ReplyDeleteWhat a special trip! Love to see the photos they took and the interesting things that caught their eye as they took the photos. Great idea. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have three budding photographers in your family! It's never too early and I find children's choices in photo taking wonderful. Interesting Evolution of a Teacher display at the scarecrow festival. That must have brought a chuckle from the crowd.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful for you to take the time and spend a special morning/afternoon with each of your nieces. Some great photos there.
ReplyDeleteOh what a lovely project to do with them, cool to take them out individually too. Some really fun photos there - purple is a favourite of mine, us red heads look good in purple ;)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, these girls are SO lucky to have you as an aunt, and I think they know it. Secondly, they have quite good eyes, and I'm looking forward to hearing about the next project.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post Melissa and you're such a wonderful Aunt! You can be my Aunt if you want. How creative you are to come up with such an activity for the girls. LOVED the Evolution of a Teacher. How true!
ReplyDeleteThe girls definitely became observant, they caught some great shots. They are blesses to have an aunt that offers them fun while sharing her love of a hobby :)
ReplyDeleteOh melissa, how wonderful! What a lovely idea for a project with each of them. They certainly are lucky to have you as an aunt!
ReplyDeleteI have been struggling with computer problems this week, but I wanted to make sure I came back and let you know how much I loved this post. You are every girls idea of a super-auntie!
ReplyDeleteWow, they must think you're the best aunt in the world! Very nice photos.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful aunt you are! They are blessed indeed, and to have individual attention like this will really aid their sense of self-worth. A really lovely post :).
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