I’m always looking for ways to encourage the children to be more creative. They love art and taking photos so the creative challenge from Microsoft was perfect. We were asked to create some art based on the incredible art of Paperboyo. You can see the amazing images on Instagram. We love This image of Spinnaker tower with butterfly wings as it is one of our most loved landmarks as you can see it from my parent’s house.

The project is backed up by new research by Microsoft Surface which has found that:
- 84% of parents (of school aged children) agree that ‘Creativity and imagination’ is as important for a child’s development as literacy and numeracy’
- 80% of children are now using the internet to help with real world, outdoor play

We were lucky to be sent a creative kit from Microsoft surface which includes specially prepared templates so children can be inspired to take photos using their imagination.

We took the kit with us when we went out during Half Term but found the shots we took at home were better as the girls could take their time and get the angles right.

It took a while to get the right angles. We used a small cardboard silhouette between two pieces of perspex and a smart phone. It made us really appreciate the artistry of Rich McCor the photographer behind Paperboyo.

Here are the best shots taken by Molly age 11.

I love how the simple use of a card silhouette can transform an image into something new. We are definitely planning to continue using the kit and taking more photos in the future.

If you want to join in then you can find fantastic printable kits, which can be downloaded and printed out at www.surface.com/goimagine.