"Imagine if we sent every child to film school. I know, it sounds bold—and maybe a bit idealistic. Especially when there’s no standardized test to assess ‘persuasion through sound and motion.’ No fill-in-the-bubble answers for creative storytelling. And that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? You can measure math, reading, even STEM outcomes with a ruler. But how do you quantify something like ‘emotional impact’ or ‘engagement’? How do you justify spending precious classroom time on media production when, let’s be honest, your paycheck doesn’t depend on it?
Here’s the thing though—kids today live in a world dominated by video. They ‘read’ video every day, but they don’t know how to write for it. And whether we like it or not, video is fast becoming the most important communication tool in every profession, not just Hollywood. But before you worry that we’re pushing stop motion for the sake of it, let me make something clear: Animating Kids is not a stop motion program. We’re not here to romanticize clay figures moving across a screen. No, we’ve tested this for years in real classrooms with limited resources, and stop motion just happens to be the most effective way to teach the principles of filmmaking. Why? Because it slows everything down—frame by frame—so kids can grasp the building blocks of visual storytelling. It’s like teaching literacy: you start with letters, then words, then sentences. Stop motion allows students to fully experience the creative process, from brainstorming to acting, editing, and finally seeing their work on screen.
What will your students develop during an Animating Kids project?
Creative and Writing Skills: Brainstorming, sequencing, playing with language, and drafting—skills they can apply to writing and communication.
STEM and Analytical Skills: Ratios, spatial reasoning, real-time hypothesis testing, and tinkering—core math and problem-solving skills.
Cinematography and Visual Storytelling: Framing, lighting, continuity, and character design—teaching kids to tell stories visually.
Performance and Communication: Voice acting, pacing, timing, and choreography—skills that enhance verbal and non-verbal communication.
Media Production and Technology: Video editing, sound design, music application—learning to work with media production tools.
Collaboration and Organizational Skills: Teamwork, leadership, compromise, and deadline management—skills vital in any profession.
Learning and Problem-Solving: Creative problem-solving, trial and error, and real-time adjustments—fostering resilience and critical thinking.
Every child growing up in today’s media-saturated world is owed at least a hands-on, head’s up about creating content—or being a content creator.
At the end of an Animating Kids project, students will have created a one-minute animated story, soup to nuts, using all the skills above. Imagine if this were baked into every school curriculum from the start.At the very least they’d have a clue about how the media they consume is manufactured to entertain and persuade in powerful relevant medium.
Bon Animate!
