Exploring clay brought out a mosaic of feelings in children

At first, the children were excited to try clay because they really enjoy working with Nendo in class and thought that clay was the same thing. But as soon as they sat at the table and touched it, many noticed and expressed that their hands got dirty. Some of the immediate reactions were,

And some children never did touch the clay the first time around. They simply observed their friends explore this strange material. Others, on the other hand, felt delighted at playing with this cold, wet and slimy material. When I asked one of the children what he thought about clay, he answered, as he slid his fingers through a chunk of clay, making deep sensory holes. At first, children did not make anything out of clay. They simply enjoyed touching it, squeezing it, and feeling the sliminess increase as they added water.

The fascination with brown ‘dirty’ hands turned into an experiment of making dark brown water and watching clay melt, dissolve or turn extra slimy. Some children looked like they were having some quiet moments of mindfulness and meditation as they let their fingers and hands enjoy the feeling of being buried in clay.

The second day of exploration was much different. Those who had not touched clay before, carefully and slowly started touching it, even if with just one finger. Others began to experiment with rolling, cutting and making shapes and creating objects.

A boy noticed that water helps clay stick together. This discovery inspired other children to try connecting pieces of their sculptures with finger dips of water.

Once various tools were introduced, the children enjoyed cutting clay into chunks, scraping and peeling it, and poking holes. While some tools were easy to figure out, others brought out questions and wonders like,

“How do you use it?

What does it do?”

E started to shape the entire chunk of clay, using both of her hands into a sculpture of a lion.

“First I made it into a circle, and then I swiggled and stucked it on and then I rolled and I punched and put it, and then pocked holes for the eyes. I rolled the tail and it sticked. Then, I put another circle and then it all sticked and it was done”.

“I am making hamster”

“Ms. Zana, does the wetness keep clay?”

N is testing theories his theories about the conditions of clay.

I was pleasantly surprised to later learn that one of the children who expressed a disliking for clay at first, chose to work with clay as his way to express himself during the Winter Showcase.

Clay was a wonderful and mysterious material for the children to explore. It helped the children to be risktakers and highlighted the value of trying new experiences even if at first you do not like it.

Zana Tolkaciova