Friday Group - Clay Slabs

Sometimes less is more. One thing I noticed with the Wednesday group is that there were too many items on the table. This seemed overwhelming and distracting so with the Friday group I only set out two of each item to highlight the clay as the main attraction and lessen the visual impact of all the other items. This week Hannah experienced the clay for the first time and Kaia spent the longest time at the clay or any wet, sticky-like material to date. As I watched Kaia spend a significant amount of time interacting with the clay I wondered what changed? I mentioned to her mother my delight in Kaia's progress with the clay and she recounted that they had watched the videos on the blog right before they came. Watching the videos and talking with the children about what they are doing is exactly what the blog is designed for. The more children see themselves reflected in pictures and videos the more they can relive, re-examine, and further their explorations (read more about this in my blog entry Using the Blog with your Child). Even watching the other children work with a material gives children new ideas and theories to test. Kaia begins her exploration with the hammer, if you listen she says "picture Kaia, picture Kaia" as she is making the connection to what she did in the past (through the video she saw) and what she is doing now.

Kaia is still concerned with the clay on her skin. Sebastien notices this interaction and after she wipes her hand he does the same. A little while later, Kaia uses the end of the hammer to make "dots" or round indentations in the clay but when she turns the hammer over she notices clay on the end. We let her know that she can wipe it on the same towel she wiped her hands on and she proceeds to do so. Sebastien makes "dots" of his own, following Kaia's lead, and then also goes to wipe off his hammer. What is nice about this interaction is that Kaia is moving out of her comfort zone and Sebastien is trying out her way of interacting with the clay. Sebastien is the most uninhibited in his work with the clay, trying out all the different tools. I think he is enjoying having Kaia interact with the clay differently: this increases his own awareness of the properties of clay and it's feeling on his skin.



Hannah dove right into the clay and interacted with it in a variety of ways. She started with the sponges, proceeds to use the hammer but moves it a novel way, back and forth on its side. She also tested out the "dot" method and finally dug her hands into it, having a little taste along the way. Hannah always keeps one eye on what everyone is doing and yet continues her exploration, leaving no stone unturned. In fact as time went on she tried to lift the slab of clay off the table.

Wednesday Group - Clay Slabs

This week the clay was sliced into smaller slabs and placed on the table with some familiar and new tools. Hammers, rolling pins, and tools used to carve and make marks in clay were set out. Inspired by Zadie's clay and water experiment last week I also included wet sponges on the table. As the children become more comfortable with the clay and the tools they begin to manipulate the clay depending on the type of tool used. Sometimes the tool is something they have brought over to the table like a car or kitchen utensil. A hammer can make big or small indentations on the clay while a spatula makes less of a visual impact on the clay. Watch as Sebastien and Caleb pound away on the clay using two different tools. Caleb especially wants to share his experience with his mother and calls her over during his exploration.

The sponges were heavily explored by the children. I couldn't wait to see how Zadie would use them and yet again she surprised me in her desire to take the sponges elsewhere. She has very elaborate and purposeful plans that confound me. While she tried to enact her plan, Sebastien gets into using the sponge on the clay creating puddles of water both on the table and floor. Zadie keeps returning to the sponges as her mother keeps bringing them back to the table and watches Sebastien use of the sponges.

Theo finds the puddle of clay water Sebastien has left and checks it out. He also tries a bite of clay. Theo wasn't the only one to have a taste, both Max and Sebastien gave it a try. Max enters the picture and asks the most basic question "dat?" as he picks up a sponge. A little while later he tests the sponges by dropping them on the ground as he did with the clay last week. Zadie comes across this activity and takes notice.

Sweetest moment of group, no clay involved but lost of love!

Friday Group - Clay & Hammers

Then (July/August 2008) and Now

The Friday group was always cautious about the clay, except for Sebastien. It was no surprise that Kaia and Bryce were again suspicious of the material. To be fair, Bryce was suffering from severe teething pain for most of the group. He didn't get to his usual "make the rounds playing with all his favorite items before he hits up the experience" routine. He did walk by while banging on a drum and picked up a sponge and as he circled the shelf and had a little taste of the clay sponge. I added the wet sponges after watching Zadie add water from the sink to the clay and thought that other children might like to combine the water and clay as well.

Kaia sat near the clay for some time watching Sebastien pound away with the hammers and scraper before she engaged with the material. Knowing that Kaia prefers not to get her hands messy I hoped that the hammers would give her a way to interact with a the clay and yet keep a comfortable distance from the material. Although her interaction with the clay was not long, I was happy to see her touch (even though she wanted it wiped off quickly) and pound on the clay.

Sebastien tried every tool available to him on the clay. He became especially delighted when one hammer stuck in the clay and the handle came off (see above video). Every time the hammer was put back together again he would recreate the hammer becoming "stuck" in the clay.

Wednesday Group - Clay & Hammers

Then (July/August 2008) & Now

Returning to clay after almost 8 months melds together the children's previous experiences with their ever-growing cognitive, physical, and social abilities. I presented the clay in a similar fashion as I did previously, in one big block. This time I added hammers and scrappers to use in conjunction with the clay. As we again embark on discovering clay I wonder whether the tools will change the children's interaction with the clay? Will the children who were unsure of the material continue their cautious explorations? How will the newcomers approach this unknown material?

Caleb didn't miss a beat with the clay even though this is the first time he's seen it at group and started hammering away. He began with just one hammer but soon had two pounding away. He was really trying to figure out how to hammer on the side of the piece of clay.

Max ventured over to the clay after Annelise and Amy joined in the exploration. He was drawn to the round balls they had made. His first reaction was to throw it on the ground, like you would any ball but he soon discovered that the clay made a plop and didn't bounce. Once it was thrown on the floor it also wasn't as easy to pick up. Max also explored poking the clay with a wooden half of a play carrot, an item that he brought with him to the clay.



Theo was not all that sure of the clay. When he first touched it, he was giving the clay block a push but soon found something different on his hand. He then tries to wipe it off on his pants. He touches it a few more times before he finds the scrapper. The scrapper seems to be a more satisfying way for him to explore the clay. For children who are unsure of the feel of the clay on their skin, the tools still allow them to interact with the clay but not have to feel uncomfortable while doing so.



Zadie had a plan with the clay. She would pick up a piece of clay and wander toward the bathroom and, trying to contain the clay, we would encourage her to come back to the clay table. Finally her mom noticed that she wanted to take it to the sink. Well, this was a brilliant plan and I couldn't wait to see how it would unfold. When you work with clay, water is always needed to smooth and keep the clay moist and pliable. Caleb soon saw what Zadie was up to and joined in the fun. Watch the interaction between the two children and how Zadie motions for Caleb to return the piece of clay in his hands to the water running in the sink.



Sebastien was so excited to have his friends work with the hammers and clay but he was even more entralled with the fact that he finally figured out how to squirt the water bottle, albeit into his own face. His reaction is priceless along with Annelise's delight.

Friday Group - Natural Materials Collage

I was hoping that the Friday Group would find the natural materials more interesting than the Wednesday Group. The following video says it all...Hannah and Kaia cautiously survey the experience.

Bryce sees his friends circling the table and comes over to see what's going on. He immediately dumps the feathers out of the container and is unsure of the contents. It turns out he was more interested in getting the contents out of the containers so he could use the containers as musical instruments.



With the yarn emptied out of the container by Sebastien, Bryce grabs the container and is off (listen and you can hear some musical containers in the background). Sebastien hesitates as he reaches for a leaf and instead grabs a big clump of yarn. Hannah wants some of the yarn Sebastien has but chooses to grab some off the table. Sebastien heads off with his hands full of yarn to put them back into the container that is being used by Bryce.



Kaia actually spent the most time at the table. She really likes when others are exploring with her and so when I (or a friend) would draw her attention to an item she would happily come explore it. Sebastien is drawn into the leaves that he was unsure of earlier and as Kaia touches, drops, crinkles, and squeezes the leaves, he takes them over to show his other friends.

WG - Collaging with Natural Materials

Knowing how much being out in nature inspires children to explore I wanted to bring the outside in during our last collage experience. When Sebastien and I are out and about we collect interesting items we find outside. These were some of the materials I set out for the children to explore. In addition to leaves, small sticks, and bark I also included feathers and yarn (cream, brown, and green to compliment the natural pallet already presented) in the natural materials to explore. I was hoping the children would really get into exploring the natural materials but the experience wasn't received with as much enthusiasm as I had hoped.

Due to a computer/YouTube malfunction (that I don't understand) I am sad to say that I don't have any videos to share this week for the Wednesday group. However, here's a rundown of the children's experiences.

Sebastien and Caleb found the yarn to be especially engaging. Caleb spread the yarn across the contact paper and then Sebastien would try to pick the pieces up and put them back into the container. Sebastien and Caleb both liked to throw the yarn up in the air, Sebastien was particularly dramatic in the execution.

Theo and Max both separated their explorations into feeling the "sticky" contact paper and then carefully examining the materials. Max brought the dust pan with him to the table and used that to scrape along the surface with one hand as he felt the contact paper with the other. The feathers Sebastien had placed on the contact paper eventually caught his eye and he touched them carefully before he lifted one back into a bin. Max also transfered a leaf he twirled around from one container to another. Theo began by using just one finger to touch the contact paper. He then moved on to examining a leaf and a stick. Theo then scooped up some of the yarn and took it over to his mother, as he did the yarn fell onto the floor and it took some tricky maneuvering to get all those pieces back into his two hands.

Zadie circled the table and looked closely at the items but chose to engage more in the environment. Dara, her mother was surprised she wasn't more interested in the leaves as she has expressed great interest when they are in nature. She did return to the table later when she was given the green light to use the markers on the contact paper/collage surface.

Reflecting on the experience I wondered what would have made the materials more appealing to the children? Is it the elements that influence these materials outside (the sun, water, wind, etc.) what make them so fascinating in their natural environment? Would a bin full of leaves, twigs, and bark made a bigger impact? How can I bring more of the outdoors into the everyday materials already provided in the environment?