Media Message

Creating With Media

Media tools — computers, digital cameras and sound recorders — can help your child discover that, as great as it is to be entertained and enjoy somebody else’s version of fun, it’s even better to enjoy fun that is entirely of his or her making!

Talk about what a story is when reading books or watching TV. Help your child understand that a story has a structure — it has a beginning, middle and end — and that there are different kinds of characters, like princesses, witches and villains. Ask: Did that happen at the beginning of the story or the end? How come? What happened next? Why do you think the witch did that?

Make a scrapbook out of pictures and other items from activities you do with your child. Use a double set of prints from a traditional camera or images that you have taken with a digital camera to assemble a book. Give your child opportunities to make choices, such as which picture goes where and what a caption should say.

Give your child a chance to play writer and director. Write down a script as your child tells you a story and then cast family members in various roles. Have everyone play his or her part as you read back the story. Ask about the characters: What do they like to wear? Do they have any special powers? Who is in their family?

Use the computer to create art with your child. Print out black-and-white pictures and help your child use crayons or paints to bring them to life. Better yet, use a scanner to make a digital version of your child’s artwork so that it can be displayed on the computer.

Help your child send a letter or e-mail message to family and friends. While you type or write what your child wants to say, offer prompts that will introduce the conventions of writing, such as how to begin and end a letter.

Source: www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia