For young children, clay holds no preconceived ideas about what it is or how it is supposed to be used. Knowing this, the teachers offer an open-ended, whole body exploration using multiple blocks of clay varying in texture and color.
In the beginning of the school year, the West Wing children spent weeks exploring clay.
The teachers observed as they manipulated the clay telling stories and acting out familiar experiences like making ice cream, having a car wash, or creating a garden for snakes. Through clay, they began to make connections with this new material and with one another.
As a way to offer a new perspective, the clay was transferred to a table. In addition to offering a new point of view, the teachers felt this was an opportune time to introduce sculpting tools.
As with all tools, time is needed to test their functionality and develop techniques that can later be applied when representing ideas. The teachers are observing as small groups of children work to incorporate previous clay experiences with the new sculpting tools. We are wondering how the new perspective and use of tools will influence the children’s use of clay? What stories will be sculpted? -Teacher Cindy