Mudpies & Butterflies » homeschool los angeles https://lifelearnersla.com Learning Alongside Your Kids in Los Angeles Tue, 13 Oct 2015 15:30:11 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2 Hx of Photography from SunPaper to Pinhole and Digital Cameras 11/10 https://lifelearnersla.com/2011/11/hx-of-photography-from-sunpaper-to-pinhole-cameras-to-digital-119/ https://lifelearnersla.com/2011/11/hx-of-photography-from-sunpaper-to-pinhole-cameras-to-digital-119/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:17:28 +0000 https://lifelearnersla.com/index.html%3fp=9271.html This week we made sun-prints, pinhole cameras & learned of mistakes in the history of photography.

With Sun Sensitive paper, we understood how chemicals are a big part of both film and the development of photography paper.

Click to see Wild & Crazy Pinhole [...]]]> This week we made sun-prints, pinhole cameras & learned of mistakes in the history of photography.

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With Sun Sensitive paper, we  understood how chemicals are a big part of both film and the development of photography IMG_0255paper.

Click here to get ideas for making Wild & Crazy Pinhole cameras

Click to see Wild & Crazy Pinhole cameras; ours will be a bit more tame.

This week, I will take a few minutes to teach kids how to protect and use a camera.  Give a kid a camera and they will astound you with their images.  Seriously, hand one over.

Photo taken by 3 year old in line at Credit Union

Photo taken by 3 year old in line at Credit Union with digital Canon

……Kids have great perspective! As early as two years old, my kids were taking images with my digital camera, but they always used the safety strap around their wrists. And with the advent of digital cameras the worry of wasting film disappeared and we all know how children light up seeing the immediacy of images. Here are 10 great tips for teaching budding photographers how to use a digital camera. They range from the simple to the more advanced ideas.

Try to avoid negative comments: Ack! Be careful. Don’t do that. Watch out. Give it back.  Look what you almost did!

Passion and confidence blossom in the absence of negativity.

Everyone will also make Pinhole Cameras

Everyone will also make Pinhole Cameras

Everyone will make Sun Prints

Everyone will make Sun Prints

Almost all the kids made their own pinhole camera.  Thank you to those who donated film, tape and assistance!!!  If you couldn’t get to the park, you can still make your own pinhole camera by going to this website. I couldn’t have done a better tutorial myself.

IMG_0264Kids see the world in a unique way.  And it’s not just that the view is different from a few feet lower; it’s that different things appeal to different people.  And a camera lets you in on what your kids find appealing.

After the kids complete taking their roll from their pinhole camera and you get it developed, sit down and let them tell you about their images. Enjoy learning more than perspective, but how their brain’s work.

And if you and your family are really getting into photography – here’s a site that makes it seem easy to turn your bathroom into a darkroom to develop your own negatives onto paper and experience the second half of the artform’s potential.IMG_0267IMG_1212IMG_0234

]]> https://lifelearnersla.com/2011/11/hx-of-photography-from-sunpaper-to-pinhole-cameras-to-digital-119/feed/ 0 Math-A-Ganza! MathMidway thru Aug12 https://lifelearnersla.com/2011/07/math-in-motion-thru-august-12th/ https://lifelearnersla.com/2011/07/math-in-motion-thru-august-12th/#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:08:08 +0000 https://lifelearnersla.com/index.html%3fp=7128.html Learning concepts for the sake of learning, can be b-o-r–i-n-g. But when you are playing a game, making art with cool machines or figuring out how you can do something crazy for the first time… well that is ACTIVE LEARNING or as my kids call it – FUN! Last week we went with a gaggle [...]]]> Learning concepts for the sake of learning, can be b-o-r–i-n-g. But when you are playing a game, making art with cool machines or figuring out how you can do something crazy for the first time… well that is ACTIVE LEARNING or as my kids call it – FUN!  IMG_4409Last week we went with a gaggle of families to this fabulous Carnival of games and activities touring the US that uses Math & Physics to engage the entire family.  We were there for almost four hours and my family is returning again this week to take more friends!

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Math Midway will be at the Discovery Center for Science & Technology in Thousand Oaks until August 12th. Notice all the volunteers in white lab coats?  Everywhere you turned there was a helpful person willing to be patient and explain any and all aspects of the events.  And these aren’t even all of the exhibits.

IMG_4448IMG_4449…………………………………………………………IMG_4426My daughters are 4 and 7 and were entertained and stimulated.  They asked some provocative questions and were EXCITED to apply Math and Physics principles to the games they were playing.  The older  homeschoolers in our group were equally impressed and spent more time at certain exhibits.  Each element of the exhibit offers a mulititude of layers.  On the surface layer, it is like a magic trick that is instantly gratifying.  Then upon further investigation, the deeper understanding grants you even more challenges.  Every parent was engaged as well by this fun exhibit: from the string-less  harp that plays on sensors, the numberline tightrope a monkey rides on,  to the center attraction – the square-wheeled tricycles on a fibonacci sunflower.  I promise you will not leave Math Midway with out learning something new!

Check out some of the action shots and videos of the fun we all had.  And if you do go, tell them that MudPies & Butterflies sent you!  If you do, they will get $1 off each person in your party.

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