Introducing Clay

Ready to move on from painting for a little bit, I was excited to introduce clay to the children. I presented the clay in one large twenty-five pound block on the floor. I expected the size and three dimensional shape to attract the children to this strange object so I opted to keep the it in a large block and not break it into small sections. I expected the children to pinch, poke, pat, taste, scratch, grab, try to push and dig into the clay. I also had hoped they would bring objects over to the clay to see how the clay would respond to an object being pushed into it.

I like introducing clay to children before the traditional playdough because playdough is very easy to mold and clay needs to be worked a bit more. However, the easily moldable playdough is not as responsive to sculpting and creating something that can be structurally sound. Playdough crumbles easily when dry and does not show intricate finger markings or lines made to create details on a sculpture. Since clay is not as easy to mold if it is introduced after playdough children sometimes get frustrated that the clay doesn't mold as easily and therefore continue to prefer playdough even though playdough is not as conducive to expressing ideas and languages when children are older. Clay is also a medium that, as children grow into adults, can still be used as a creative medium.