They poked, pinched, grabbed, and squeezed it. They plucked off a small piece and also lifted a huge one above their heads (it was heavy, but they were strong)!
This month the children have been practicing molding the clay into specific shapes. There is a special way of rolling -- around and around -- that will make a lump of clay into...
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| a ball. |
Balls can become snowmen, eggs, meatballs, or -- if you tap them on the table to flatten the bottoms and tops -- marshmallows.
Balls can also become -- if you flatten them with your whole hand --
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| slabs. |
Slabs can become pancakes, stacked up high, but if you are a baker...
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| they can become cookies. |
Creating even shapes requires tactile awareness as well as small muscle coordination. Certain shapes like balls and coils require using both hands in symmetrical motion.
Shapes can be further manipulated. One shape can be attached to another...
and another.
Lines can be small or short...
large or long...
straight or...
zig-zagged!
Our clay work this week has been closely paralleling our handwriting readiness work. Children focused on drawing (or writing) a long, straight line and then a curved line with a crayon on paper. Then they made a similar line in an entirely different medium, looking at it in a different way!
