Creating with Clay

swirl bowl
We are inspired by clay this week. It is such a great material to play with.  I can hear you saying but that is something I don’t have in my house.  I buy air dry clay that is natural and then we like to paint it with acrylic paint.  You can find surprisingly good air dry clay at some dollar stores or any craft/arts store. You don’t have to spend a lot.   You can also do these activities with good old play doh or modelling clay that is already in colours but you won’t be able to paint it.
Check out this video on how to make a bowl or cup out of clay:
I like to encourage the kids to design the projects they want to do on paper first. This is a great skill to learn to plan out your designs and then make them into 3D objects.   You don’t need to do anything fancy with the clay but here are a few tips to make it easier with some project ideas:
-roll the clay into long ‘snakes’ and then roll them into a swirl to build with
-dots can be used to build with as well.
-run your finger gently down the clay to attach
-have a bowl of clay in a bit of water to use like glue when you are attaching pieces together
-have something available to draw designs with in the clay such as wooden skewers, chop sticks.  We also like to
 use stamps and stencils to press into the clay to make designs.
-After building, you can paint the clay with regular acrylic paint.  You don’t have to wait until it has hardened to paint them.  We are usually too impatient to wait!
Clay is such a great thing to have in your house and a great medium to build fine motor skills and give kids sensory experiences.  Even as an adult, I find it therapeutic and relaxing.   I let the kids build on parchment paper or on a large paper plate to keep the mess to a minimum.  They could spend hours creating and playing.  I would love to see your creations!
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