Life through the lens of a Storyteller Preschooler

Photography Show at Paseo Nuevo: June 5th – July 6th

Storyteller Children’s Center will showcase the photography of its Head Start Children, ages 3 – 5 years old, in the old Macy’s windows in the Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara. The show is the result of a curriculum created by teachers to instruct the children about memory, time, and reflection. The exhibition will hang for a month and offers the local community a glimpse into Storyteller Children’s Center’s approach to encouraging healthy life skills. 

Each child was given a disposable camera and taught how to use a viewfinder, a wind advance, and flash. Then, the cameras were sent home for the children to record their daily lives; a learning activity meant to encourage the development of patience, observation, creativity, and inventiveness. All photos presented have been taken by the children from their perspective. 

“There was so much joy among the children in learning a new method of taking pictures and taking the cameras home was a wonderful opportunity for them to have self-directed expression without adult intervention,” noted Teacher, Genezaret Cardoso. As opposed to the digital photography of today, the photos also offer the unique beauty of an unedited moment in time. 

Founded in 1988, Storyteller is a full-time, therapeutic school program that supports children ages 18 months to 5 years in achieving kindergarten readiness. In addition to the approximate 80 students served per year, Storyteller also provides assistance to the entire family unit, with an emphasis on breaking the cycle of poverty for the working poor while preparing children to successfully enter kindergarten. Some of Storyteller’s programs are supported by Head Start of the United States Department of Health and Human Services which provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families.