Clay - one of our favourite lessons each term!
I do love it, but I must say I'd enjoy it a whole lot more if I didn't have to lug 2 X 12kg blocks of clay (plus all the other paraphernalia) into each school, and then the finished pottery pieces (plus all the paraphernalia) back out to my car, then out of the car to store/dry in my garage, then back in/out of the car to a friend's kiln for firing, then back to the schools for painting..... Multiply it by 5 schools and it is a really exhausting couple of weeks!
But I can't complain when the kids obviously love it so much :)
This term we've made simple coil pots, sealing the coils on the inside as we go, and leaving them visible on the outside to represent a coiled snake. We wound the end of the last coil up to form the snake's head. Some of the kids went further and wound the last coil around the body of their pot so that their snakes are wrapping themselves around the pot.
This was a great activity for my after-school classes, which are multi-age (Prep to year 7 in each class.) Even though some of the littlies had trouble building the sides of their pots symmetrically, and some of their coils droop a little bit, this actually enhanced the 'snakiness' of their finished pots. At the same time, there was lots of opportunity for the older students to explore some really interesting ideas. They are ALL beautiful, and I can't wait to see them after firing and finishing!
