Last summer we took our two grandkids (a 6 year old boy and 7 year old girl) to the beach for the afternoon for a picnic, fishing, swimming, and sea shell hunting trip. But on the way we stopped at a quick shop to get some ice and my grandson spotted one of those throw away cameras (good for one roll of film and then you send in or hand over the whole camera for the prints).

As all grandparents often do, I said sure get one for your sister too knowing that if I didn't there would be trouble. So off we went to the beach with a car full of food, fishing poles, beach chairs, and coolers. But we really didn't get to do all the things we had planned. The fascination with the cameras took over and we spent the afternoon taking pictures.

We did manage to eat, but most of the time we went looking for things to photograph. My granddaughter was interested in taking pictures of people and my grandson was more interested in anything that was dead or out of the ordinary. And there was plenty of both people and weird or dead things to take photos of along the beach.

I didn't bother to mention that they only had 20 shots in the cameras and they continued to take pictures well after we ran out of film. But the kids didn't really care; they were more interested in the process than the end result. So on the way home we stopped at a drug store and gave them the cameras to develop the pictures. Of course we went for the hour turn around so we could look at the pictures before we took the grandkids home.

We went over to a neighborhood playground and had a good time swinging and playing on the jungle gym and even managed to avoid any serious mishaps. So back we went to the drug store to pick up the pictures. I was amazed at how good the photos turned out. I was concerned that they might be pretty bad but the grandkids turned out to be good photographers in the making.

When we finally took the kids back to their parents they immediately ran up to their rooms and started a scrapbook with their newfound treasures. Later in the week my son told me they played for hours quietly and even days afterward would go rearrange and play with the photo scrapbooks.

For once we didn't get into hot water for buying them something that would create chaos for days on end. Chalk one up for the Grandparents.

Since then they have bought them a few more cameras so they could add to their collection of pictures. The cameras are inexpensive and the kids love to take pictures and put them in their scrapbooks.

Now each time we go to visit they show us their latest photos and tell us all about each adventure. The photos are getting better each time too. Their dad has always liked photography too and this gives them some great opportunities for some family outings.

We're going to get each of them a digital camera for Christmas so they can move to the next level. There are some pretty good digital cameras especially made for children that can handle the rough and tough handling. The kids are into computers too so now they will be able to make their scrapbooks on the computer and print them out.

My only concern at this point is that my granddaughter has a tendency to dress the cat up as a doll and take pictures. I'm not sure the cat is too happy about this activity. And my grandson's choices of subjects can be a little gross and you need to be prepared to see almost anything in his photos.

But all in all this interest in photography is great and they will have these pictures to show their children. It's educational and provides hours of fun that can be shared with others. Each family outing now includes photos that will provide enjoyment for years to come.