Wednesday, February 23, 2011

1s Clay Exploration

This week we focused on clay. For their first introduction to clay, the new 1s class began with a soft, grainy clay, a rolling pin and a popsicle stick for poking. At first they really didn't know what to make of it. They were daring and tired to touch it, but quickly moved to the easels where they felt more comfortable.
At this age I like to introduce children to clay on it's own at first, but eventually I always incorporate water to entice them. This brings them back to the table and helps them to engage more with the clay.
Once the children felt more comfortable working with the clay, I began to introduce paint and various tools to use in their exploration.
After getting to know the clay (hard work!), the children moved on to what they know and love... pure water play!

The other 1s class are returning students with a little clay experience under their belts. So instead of the soft pliable clay I use with beginners, I offered them a modeling clay that is more firm and very smooth. Because it isn't as squishy as the other clay, it shows pokes and prints really well. The children began rolling, stamping, and poking the clay and seemed to be intrigued by this new material.


After a while, I offered the children more tools, paint, and water to use with their clay.


This clay is soooo smooth- when combined with water it creates a sensory experience unlike any other!

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