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.