Thank Goodness for Our Maintenance Men

Messy, hands on, interactive, dirty, controlled chaotic and fun are adjectives that describe the current state of the art room as we begin our clay unit. The mess and controlled chaos that undertaking a clay unit with 6-12 year olds brings, is worth the joy and creativity that students experience when handling clay. If you walked into the art room this week, you might see a clay dusted floor and tables, a messy sink, and 300 clay projects lining all of the counters and cabinets in the room, like something out of the TV show Hoarders. However, more importantly you would see students fully engaged in the artistic process, students acting like engineers while figuring out how to build a sturdy object, students helping each other roll out clay, build walls, or with idea generation, students utilizing their fine motor skills to sculpt and smooth clay objects, and students learning to respect their materials/use tools like plastic knives and rolling pins appropriately. All grades are building different objects out of clay, like picture frames, candy/cookie trays, bowls, candle holders, etc. I cannot wait to see how the students’ clay projects turn out next week after they have finished building them, glazing them, and firing them in the kiln to turn them into a finished ceramic piece.