The Kindergarteners learned about texture in this unit. Before touching the clay, they removed their shoes and noticed the different patterns on the bottoms of them. If they ran their hands over the patterns, they noticed their shoes had a bumpy texture to them. I told them that they would be using the texture of their shoes as stamps for this project. I also allowed the students to pass around clay and had them describe what the texture of the clay felt like to them. This allowed them to practice describing textures as well as become familiar with clay before actually working with it.
When the Kindergarteners were ready to start, they all began by taking a small circular stamp and pressing it into squares of clay. They kept the circle that resulted from the stamp and set aside the extra scraps of clay. With this circle, they used their shoes to press their shoes into the clay. Many of the students were afraid to press hard in fear of squishing the clay too much. Once stamped, I used a straw to punch a hole into the clay for the string to go through. I was able to fire the necklaces before the next art class. During the next art class, I taught the students how to glaze their necklaces. Unlike painting, glaze quickly dries and has a different color than what it will end up looking like when it is fired. They each painted two coats, leaving no white spaces except for the bottoms of the necklaces. After they were fired, I threaded yarn through the holes so that the Kindergarteners could have completed clay necklaces.
When the Kindergarteners were ready to start, they all began by taking a small circular stamp and pressing it into squares of clay. They kept the circle that resulted from the stamp and set aside the extra scraps of clay. With this circle, they used their shoes to press their shoes into the clay. Many of the students were afraid to press hard in fear of squishing the clay too much. Once stamped, I used a straw to punch a hole into the clay for the string to go through. I was able to fire the necklaces before the next art class. During the next art class, I taught the students how to glaze their necklaces. Unlike painting, glaze quickly dries and has a different color than what it will end up looking like when it is fired. They each painted two coats, leaving no white spaces except for the bottoms of the necklaces. After they were fired, I threaded yarn through the holes so that the Kindergarteners could have completed clay necklaces.