It doesn’t matter if you have young children or teenagers, making a wildlife video with your kids will not only be fun but teach them about wildlife at the same time! Firstly, your child will enjoy making the crafts for the video and secondly, long after the craft has to be thrown away, you’ll have something to enjoy watching again and again.
One of the best ways children learn is by teaching others, so this is one of those activities that will help children easily absorb the educational side of the activity too. Making a wildlife life cycle video and pairing it with books and other wildlife learning opportunities, like watching a video with real animals on film, all makes for a great educational learning tool!
I made this video with Miss Possum a while ago but I never explained how we made it. So I’m bringing it back for you all and showing you how easy it can be to make your own.
After making our crafts with a little bit of paint and creativity, we decided on a location for the video. We chose a nice big leaf because the caterpillar had to stick to the leaf for every frame.
Miss Possum was quite young when we made it, so I took over here but she did help to occasionally move the caterpillar for me. If your child is older, you can assist them with creating their movie or show them how to do it first and then let them plan their own prequel!
I didn’t use a video camera for this activity, instead I used my camera and took photos frame by frame, moving the caterpillar bit by bit to give it the sense of movement. If your child has had experience with a camera, then this is a perfect opportunity for them to use their skills.
As you take photos, try to delete the images that don’t work so that when you add them into a video editing program they will already be in order. It makes it a lot easier.
Once we’d taken all our photos, we used Windows Movie Maker to edit the images to create a movie. There are lots of tools that will help you to edit your movie depending what program you use.
We added a slide title to the start of the movie as a nice introduction, timed when each image clicked to the next to create that sense of movement and of course we added music. If you’ve never done this before, I’d suggest watching some movie maker You Tube tutorials (see links below). They helped me out immensely.
And then, our video was complete!
We loved this activity and will be creating another one soon. We still watch this video over and over again. Miss Possum not only created the craft and helped make this video but she learnt all about the life cycle of a butterfly and could share her crafty accomplishments with family and friends in a unique and educational way!
Helpful movie-making You Tube clips
Windows Movie Maker Tutorial 1: How to Make a Picture Slideshow with Music
Movie Maker Video Editing Tutorial
Brilliant idea! And I love the video!
Trisha @ Inspiration Laboratories recently posted..Gratitude – Giving Thanks for a Journey
Thanks so much for dropping by Trisha. We had so much fun making it andnow Miss Possum is teaching other people about the butterful life cycle on you tube!
Sounds like tons of fun… My little one would love this!
You know, that video is one of my faves. I’ll have to check out those tutorials because welll, as you know, I’m always up for making a video
P.S love your song choice for the video too! X
Grace recently posted..Losing a wallet, gaining Balinese perspective
Thank Gracie. I thought I’s bring it back from the dead. After all, I only used it for a WW and although I love WW, it was kind of a waste. Now I can help people create their own. And yes, you are quite the vlog maker now too. Any hints on what I could do with video?
My son would love this, these tutorials are great
Thanks Jodie. You should give it a go. It might seem a little overwhelming at first but it wasn;t really that hard to make!
That is so freakin awesome!
Who is singing that lovely song? Reminds me of Angie Hart.
Kylie @ Octavia and Vicky recently posted..How to Get More Blog Comments
Hey Kylie,
Have you never heard it before? It’s by Lenka. I jusy love that song and it fit so well with the Caterpillar life cycle we created! We will have to make another one of these soon. I just hope I can find another bit of music that matches so well!
Great idea, some holiday fun coming up I think
If you do make a video Michelle, I’d love to feature it on Facebook. I should do a competition shouldn’t I. If I have time, I’ll see if I can get a great giveaway!
What a fabulous idea. My girls would love this and I’m sure they would be watching their video over and over and over!
Mud Hut Mama recently posted..Waterhole Wednesday: A Scrub Hare (Kalulu) and an African Folktale
Another fantastic idea Penny…and your model is getting more gorgeous every post i think! I already pinned this earlier in the week when i saw it on Pinterest…love it!
jode@mummymusingsandmayhem recently posted..Toddler Foam Block Shape Stamping!
Totally awesome, Mr 7 wants to make one right now x
This is freakin’ awesome!! I love love love it!! You are clever!
I bet Miss Poss just loved seeing her craft come to life! Please make more because I want to watch them!! haha! Love it! Sharing on my facebook page and pinning!
Bek @ Just For Daisy recently posted..Sleep.. and other fables they tell
How BRILLIANT! I loved watching the video and what a great way to get children to achieve a deeper understanding of life cycles. Great work.
Oh, that was just adorable! I love that Lenka song, what a fabulous choice. You will have to see the video I took of my daughter singing along to herself multiple times over. (Not as fabulous as this one though!) What a great keep-sake for you guys and your daughter must be so proud of it!
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