There are many ways to do small media projects with kids. Especially uncomplicated are projects around photography. Because there is actually a camera in every family, whether in the smartphone or as its own device. Plus, you don’t have to depend on the Internet or a power outlet (when the battery is charged) to take photos. So some ideas can also be implemented quite easily outside! What kind of camera you use for a small photo project, whether photo camera, smartphone or tablet does not matter in most cases. You can get creative together with your child and try out what can be photographed besides selfies and vacation snapshots – with the photo camera on the go.
Anyone who takes photos themselves knows that the view through the camera lens is often a different one. When photographing, perspectives and proportions change completely. Go on a journey of discovery with your child. Macro photography, for example, is particularly well suited for this. That is, you get very close to objects. If available, you can also use the zoom of the camera to help you. Flowers, insects and other things look much bigger with it. This way, you can discover things together that you didn’t consider before. No less exciting is taking photos from a great distance or height. You can go in search of the best places to take pictures.
You may know this photo action from your vacation in Paris or Pisa. Photos are taken there that look as if the leaning tower is being propped up or the Eiffel Tower is being gently held between index finger and thumb.
The technique is called forced perspective. This allows you to make objects appear larger or smaller than they actually are by positioning yourself at a certain distance. This often results in funny photos that do not correspond to reality.
Such perspective photos can be easily implemented at home or outside, because any building or object can be forced into funny and crazy perspectives. Just try it out with your kids – “play” with different perspectives.
For a fun YouTube video to get inspired, click here:
Do you still know the photo love stories from Bravo? Behind it is the simple comic principle, combining images and short texts. Photos always tell stories and children love stories. Think up a little story together and package it as a photo story. This way, children can also try out their acting talent. It is even easier to create collages on a specific theme, such as “animals” or “nature”. With various apps, you can easily edit, arrange images and add text. Among other things, “Pic’s Art Photo and Collage” and “Edit Pic Collage Photo” let you edit pictures, create collages and insert stickers. “Snapseed”, on the other hand, relies on filters and correcting sharpness and contrast.
If your child has taken particularly successful photos, he or she can present them to other children in a children’s photo community such as Knipsclub or Kamerakinder. While on Instagram and the like, it’s usually the shining filter, a virtual wreath of flowers on the head or the rushing sea in the background that leads to lots of likes, the Knipsclub or the camera kids are all about the essentials: taking photos. Many photo activities and the nomination of the “Photo of the Month” encourage people to participate and try things out. In the digital exhibition, images can be marked with “Like” and commented on. Children up to about 12 years old can exchange ideas with each other. A kids’ photo community is a safe place to try out social network options in a protected space before your child posts photos and more on Instagram and other social apps starting in their teens. Talk to your child about what kinds of photos they share and which ones may be nobody’s business.
Another great idea, for advanced photographers is painting with light, also called light painting. A guide on how to do this with children can be found at“Growing up well with media“.
Even more ideas and tips for photographing with children can also be found at Knipsclub and Kamerakindern.
A bad event, such as the start of the war in Ukraine, usually dominates media coverage or street conversations for days. Children get to hear what adults are preoccupied with and are thus confronted with frightening, current events. It is hardly possible and makes little sense to keep children and young people completely away from the news. In this article, we explain how young people can be accompanied on the subject of news and what age-appropriate offers there are.
Many parents rightly wonder how to explain such events to children without frightening them. Adult news overwhelms children due to its complexity and the depictions of e.g. catastrophes, terror and violence. Especially pictures or videos are often still unsuitable for them, as they are difficult to classify and process. In times of fake news and many news sources that are difficult to assess, children and young people should be strengthened in their ability to understand, analyze and evaluate news in an age-appropriate way.
A variety of safe news services suitable for children are available for this purpose. They offer a wide range of topics and cover children’s interests. Your child will find news here conveyed in an age-appropriate way, in understandable language, with simple and clear sentences. In addition, dramatic and frightening images and videos are avoided. Sometimes children even become reporters themselves and report on events from their own perspective.
Examples of messages for children and young people on the Internet are
The children’s search engines blinde-kuh.de and fragfinn.de help to check news from different sites in a quick run. Here, articles from various child-friendly offers are displayed at a glance.
Podcasts have also long since arrived in the children’s room. In short audio files, children can get an overview of what is happening in the world right now. News in audio format comes entirely without frightening images, creating an inclusive opportunity for all children who cannot read or see.
Interesting examples of podcasts are:
Young people inform themselves less via linear television and more via social media platforms such as
YouTube
,
Instagram
and
TikTok
. Social networks and messengers are not only home to serious news offerings, but it is precisely there that young people are confronted with disinformation and opinion mongering, for example on extremist positions. The following formats from public broadcasters and other providers are recommended:
The following also applies to messages suitable for children: Depending on the child’s individual stage of development, you should watch or listen to messages specifically for the respective age group together with your child. Younger children in particular absorb news unfiltered and have difficulty assessing the extent to which the content affects them and influences their lives. Especially with bad events it is important to classify them well. Take your child’s fears seriously, talk to him about them, and comfort him. This will help your child understand the message and process it well.
For young people, it is important to continuously strengthen their information literacy. Give your child access to youth-friendly news portals. Stay in touch about what is happening on a daily basis and also talk critically about sources. Educate your child about phenomena like fake news, conspiracy myths, and propaganda, and set a good example by getting news only from reputable sources.
Did you know that your child can hear even before he or she is born? The ear is the first sensory organ to be formed during pregnancy.
Hearing also plays a special role in baby and toddlerhood. Babies can recognize mom’s voice at an early age. Hearing is important for perceiving the environment and learning to speak. Since young children cannot yet read, they are especially dependent on hearing. They like to be read to or listen to radio plays. As soon as children begin to speak, they narrate to themselves while playing.
Especially at kindergarten age, children can be inspired with audio media. It doesn’t always have to be movies and videos. From the age of about 3 years, you can produce small audio games together or play games with sounds. This trains accurate listening and helps to learn to speak well.
With small children (about 3 years), you can just take a walk and listen carefully: What do we hear? What actually makes a noise?
If your child is already a little older (from 4 years) you can go on a sound safari together. Every smartphone has a built-in microphone, and many also have an app for recording voice memos. Go outside, e.g. to the forest, collect all kinds of sounds together. When you listen to it afterwards, do you or your child recognize what the sounds were?
Produce your own radio play (suitable for children from approx. 4 years). Almost every child has a favorite book or story. Make a little radio play out of it together. Read the dialogues with divided roles and think about how to implement sounds. What does it sound like when it’s raining or storming outside? An overview of how you can create sounds yourself can be found here.
If the weather doesn’t invite you to go outside, your child can solve audio puzzles at audiyoukids.de or Planet Schule, set a story to music themselves or put together an audio play. Accompany your child in this process – especially if he or she cannot yet read. Older children (elementary school age and up) also learn to edit sound recordings here.
Also, check out the reading tips further down this page. There you will find more ideas for creative media projects and more.
Then let’s get to the ears and have fun listening and making sounds together!
Your child loves taking pictures and maybe wants to be a photographer one day? For Instagram it may still be too young, but in the Knipsclub it can learn more about photography in a child-friendly way and exchange ideas with others.
The photo community Knipsclub is suitable for 8- to 12-year-olds. Knipsclub is a platform where they can publish their own photos, share them with others, and talk about them. Knipsclub offers a protected space on the Internet for this purpose. Through animations, video clips and hands-on activities, children learn more about photography and safe behavior on the Internet, e.g. on topics such as Data protection, copyrights and secure communication with others. In the “Knipstipps” tips are given, e.g., for the correct picture detail, the correct light or the use of filters and how one can work on a picture.
Many children love picture stories or comics and like to draw. With photos, they can discover their environment in a new way and learn how to deal with (digital) technology. Children at this age are curious and want to know a lot.Many are already on the Internet. At Knipsclub they can gain their first experience and learn what they need to watch out for, e.g. that you can’t simply upload pictures of others to the upload to the Internet.
Take your child’s wish seriously if they like to share their photos and be independent on the web. Social networks such as Instagramoffer little protection and no guidance for children and are only recommended from a minimum age of 13. There, they may encounter advertising, cyberbullying, and cybergrooming, which can overwhelm or frighten them.
In Knipsclub, you can slowly introduce your child to using the Internet. You must upload a written consent form to register. Familiarize your child with the rules on the net and discover the platform together. Start a collaborative photo project. Here you will find some ideas for this.
Through fragFINN, children only surf on checked Internet sites. As a result, they do not encounter inappropriate content.
The search engine for children displays only harmless content in the results based on verified websites. The examination of the Internet sites is carried out by a media pedagogical team. The children’s search engine is used to find children’s sites and harmless adult sites (e.g. zoo sites, club sites). The children’s pages are played out first in the search results.
On the fragFINN homepage, children can also find surfing tips on many different topics. Children can get involved as fragFINN children’s reporters and meet famous personalities.
When displaying search results, websites are identified by the icons “Children”, “Knowledge” and “International”. This makes the search results easier to classify for children.
When using the search function on the website and in the app, the user’s search query is sent directly to the fragFINN server in Germany. No user data is collected or stored in the process.
The fragFINN app can also be installed on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.
Children’s search engines offer a safe introduction to the world of the Internet. They can be a good preparation for using common and well-known search engines. The pre-testing of all content provides a very high level of security for your child. Nevertheless, you should accompany your child, especially when using it for the first time, and explore the search engine together. This way you can explain important functions for the search in more detail.
If your child finds a page among the results that scares him/her, he/she can report it using the “Report page” button. The alarms received are checked daily. Your child also has the opportunity to suggest websites. The media education team checks the pages and can approve them for the children’s search engine if necessary. Moreover, the search engine is particularly compatible with additional child protection solutions such as JusProg.
Further information for parents can be found here: eltern.fragFINN.de
Especially in winter or during pandemic times, there are fewer opportunities to exercise outside and with friends. So why not move the exercise indoors to the children’s room or do sports together with the family in front of the TV? Exercise is an important balance if you spend a lot of time indoors, in front of the game console or on your cell phone, especially in the dark season.
Since the first Corona Lockdown in the spring of 2020, clubs, television stations, health insurers and others have recorded home sports programs and made them available on the network. Our compilation will help you choose the right physical activity program for you and your family based on your child’s age:
On theYouTube channel of the Berlin basketball club there are sports instructions for different age groups. In a playful and entertaining way, the children’s and youth trainers guide you through different age-appropriate exercise programs ranging from 20 to a maximum of 50 minutes in length: daycare children can travel with the ghost ship, elementary school children get fit with kitchen stuff, teenagers can keep fit with the power workout, and much more. There are already over 100 videos on YouTube and on the site of the club.
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg has teamed up with various sports clubs and offers very different sports videos on its YouTube channel or in the media library. For families with children of daycare and elementary school age, the episodes Kinderport with Heike, Kindertanz with Susi or the family workouts are suitable. For older kids and teens, it can be yoga, street dance, or working out with everyday objects. The entire playlist is available here.
Former ski racer Felix Neureuther has teamed up with Bayerischer Rundfunk to produce two web series to help kids stay fit and get fit. The ten-minute clips bring the Olympics into the children’s room. The shorter clips from the Beweg dich schlau series are about movement in everyday life and coordination. Felix does sports with kids and it’s entertaining. With his friendly manner, Felix certainly appeals to many children, especially those of preschool and elementary school age. Here are all the clips to watch and join in.
Sports games for game consoles can also provide fun and exercise. Some consoles, such as Wii, Nintendo Switch or XBox, offer accessories that allow you to play sports. But even without such additional equipment, exercise is possible with the game console, with Zumba Fitness, Just Dance, Wii Sports Resort and many other games.
If you look around on the net or specifically on YouTube, you will see that there are many more offers. Before recommending or doing them together with your child, see if the sports program is age-appropriate and if you and your child can do it all. After all, exercise should be fun, not frustrating. If you keep at it together, you can slowly increase.
If you have an Internet-enabled TV (smart TV) or large computer monitor and make some space in front of it, you can play sports together by opening YouTube, going to the media library or connecting the game console. Together, sport and exercise is more fun and especially motivating!
Smartphone use is not only an important topic in the family. The question of whether or not cell phones belong in school is also hotly debated. On the one hand, the issue is whether students bring their smartphones with them and at what times they are allowed to use them privately. On the other hand, the question arises whether the devices can and should be used meaningfully in the classroom. The legal situation must also be considered.
Every student over the age of 12 now has their own smartphone. Among the younger ones, it is at least every second schoolchild. The cell phone is an important communication and entertainment medium for children and young people, with which they can also be reached by their parents at any time. Smartwatches, which in many respects perform the same functions as smartphones, are also becoming increasingly popular. But there are also risks associated with mobile devices.
There are legitimate concerns, especially from those parents and teachers who favor a ban on cell phones in schools: If cell phones can be used, people will be daddling during recess instead of exercising and chatting with each other, they fear. In addition, cyberbullying could be promoted because, for example, photos and videos can be taken of classmates and sent directly to each other. And in class, students can get distracted when the cell phone is within reach.
The ability to always be able to reach your children may be more of an argument for you as a parent to allow cell phones at school. From a teacher’s perspective, however, it can be difficult when parents call their children in the middle of class, for example.
At the same time, the cell phone can also be used positively by teachers in the classroom. Many schools do not have enough money for modern technical equipment. So it’s actually practical that each child has his or her own “pocket computer”, which he or she also knows how to operate. In addition to quick Internet research, smartphones can be used creatively to present a topic and for other useful purposes. The media use of children and young people and the associated opportunities and risks can be made a topic of discussion. Smartphones thus offer many creative, didactic and pedagogical possibilities that should be promoted in schools.
Regardless of the opportunities and risks that smartphones bring to the classroom and school, there is a legal framework that governs the use of smartphones in the school context. Since school policy is a state matter, each state determines individually how cell phones should be handled in its own schools. In addition, the schools themselves or individual school boards make their own rules, which must be compatible with the school law of the respective federal state. Find out what specific rules apply in your state and at your child’s school. Talk to your child’s classroom teacher about this. The Handysektor site provides an overview of the regulations in the individual German states (as of September 2016).
If smartphones are also allowed at your child’s school during the school day, it is important for you as a parent to question how personal data is handled. Indeed, this presents schools with a major challenge. If your child creates a video project with the smartphone as part of the lesson, various questions arise: Who is in the pictures? Is it just your child, or are there other children? Do the children consent to these files being on your child’s device? Do you have the consent forms from the other parents? What happens to the video? and so on. You can find more information about this, for example, in our article on smartphone safety and on klicksafe.de.
Another problem closely related to the use of smartphones in schools is the constant comparison of students with each other. Not all smartphones are the same. Some kids may have a more expensive model or get a new one regularly, while others use mom’s old device. This holds a lot of potential for disputes among themselves, for example, the misuse of the smartphone as a status symbol. You should talk about this with your child and also with other parents.
So there can be no simple answer to the question of whether smartphones are useful in schools or not. Schools, teachers, you as parents, and your children face challenges here that you can only solve together. If you would like to read more about this, we recommend the fact check on the “Hart aber fair” program from September 2018.
Creating your own animated film is great fun, but it is also time-consuming and you need the right technical equipment such as a tripod and a tablet. There are alternatives to the cartoon studio in the children’s room on the net, with which your child can create their own cartoon on the computer.
With an online animation studio you can quickly create your own movie. In a preview window, you can edit the individual images that will later be played back one after the other. Only very small changes are made to the figures and objects per frame so that movements appear smooth when played back. With a mouse click all objects can be dragged and moved smaller and larger. There are three online animation studios, all of which invite you to make animated films on the net and some of which have different functions.
In the animation studio of JUKI on Kindersache there is a variety of colorful figures and backgrounds. Here your child can also insert music and add sounds to the actions; whether snoring, footsteps or hiccups. There are even elements that move: With falling leaves or pattering rain, your child has the opportunity to determine the season in their own cartoon.
In Trickino, not only can existing characters and objects be accessed, but your child can also draw objects themselves in the drawing studio, which other children can then use for their animated film. Finally, the animated film is created in the animation studio. With Tickino, your child has the additional option to upload audios and even edit them on multiple audio tracks.
This page was developed from an animated film project with students: Trickmisch – The mobile language laboratory. They drew their own figures and objects and created animated films using the Legetrick technique. At trixmix.tv, all children can create their own animated film online.
Your child can use an infinite number of drawings here: from the stovepipe, to the lawn mower, to the screwdriver. The icons are sorted by topics, and there is also a search function. Of course, there is also a large number of colorful background images and some audios and sounds that can be inserted.
On all the presented sites your child can publish their own cartoon and also view the works of other children. Overall, the platforms offer a simple, yet creative alternative to traditional animation. Maybe that’s a good place to start before you start filming in your own child’s room.
Children of daycare and elementary school age especially like animated films. And the great thing is, it doesn’t take much to make your own at home: smartphone or tablet, construction paper and pens, and the kids’ room becomes a film studio.
Animated films are based on the stop motion technique. You know this from flipbooks, for example. Many images that differ only in details are shown in quick succession. One perceives the small changes on each individual image as a whole as movement. The opening and closing credits of “Sandmännchen” and the stories of “Shaun the Sheep” are also produced with this technology.
Does your child like to paint or tinker, or does he or she prefer to play with Duplo and Lego? Such things can also be used wonderfully for the production of the first own film. Then you’re ready to go!
And now… have fun trying it out!
Kindersache.de is an Internet service for children of the German Children’s Fund. The website features current and child-friendly news, the JUKI video portal, an animated film studio and numerous hands-on activities for children.
Here, children will find age-appropriate information and interactive offerings, e.g. They can
The topic of children’s rights is given a particularly large amount of space at kindersache.de: It is described in a child-friendly way, what it is at all and which children’s rights there are.
In the “Join in” section, children can become active themselves: Write an article or a story, create a cartoon, upload their own video or tell a joke. More fun is provided by various games and puzzles on the site.
Kindersache.de is particularly suitable for children, as all content is selected and reviewed by media educators. Also the exchange with others is safe, because comments and etc. are checked before publication. In this way, children learn about the opportunities for participation on the Internet in a protected space.
As with all services used by children up to the age of 12, you should also find out about kindersache.de and ideally explore the site together with your child. It is important for your child to share their experiences with you. Talking about the content on kindersache.de, such as children’s rights, promotes your child’s autonomy and knowledge. .
With Blinde Kuh , children can learn how to use a search engine in a safe surfing space, because only children’s sites are displayed.
Blinde Kuh is one of the oldest and best known search engines just for children in Germany. By entering keywords, your child can search for a lot of different and safe content here or browse through different topics.
Based on a safety-tested catalog, you get child-friendly search results. The catalog is created by an editorial team with the help of technical means. In addition to web pages, videos are also displayed in the search results.
Under the button “News” you can find the latest and interesting news for children. In the “Join in” section, your child can send in stories, reports or reports they have written themselves. There are also games and information about safety on the net.
Click here to go directly to Blinde Kuh: www.blindekuh.de
More info for parents is also available: www.blinde-kuh.de/faqs/index.html
Children’s search engines are a good introduction to the world of the Internet. They can be a good preparation for using common and well-known search engines. The pre-testing of all content provides a very high level of security for your child. Nevertheless, you should accompany your child, especially when using it for the first time, and explore the search engine together. This also allows important functions for the search to be explained in more detail.
If your child finds a page among the results that scares him/her, he/she can report it using the “Report page” button. The alarms received are checked daily. Your child also has the opportunity to suggest websites. The media education team checks the pages and can approve them for the children’s search engine if necessary.
For more tips on how to use the Blinde Kuh, check out this video:
(Source: kindersache.de/bereiche/juki)
Are you or your child looking for inspiration for exciting websites that are also kid-friendly? ThenSeitenstark is the right thing!
Seitenstark.de is a children’s website that lists and presents a variety of child-friendly Internet sites. These pages deal with many different topics, such as the environment and nature, music and film, art and culture, politics, religion. Seitenstark is an association of now more than 60 children’s sites that are united by high standards of quality and protection of children and young people in the media.
In addition, Seitenstark provides important information on the topic of “Security on the Internet”. Your child will learn more about the Internet in general, about bullying and will receive advice on how to handle their own data.
When you gradually release your child more independently into the world of the Internet, he or she should already have learned a few rules and have safe places to go to find offers suitable for children. For this, Seitenstark is a great option.
The website is divided into a children’s section and a section for parents and teachers. You can let your child surf alone in the kids’ area with a clear conscience, which gives them confidence and teaches them media literacy. In principle, however, you should ensure that the discussed media use times are adhered to and that you remain in communication with your child. And you yourself can also get information on the site.
