Clay Camp for Kids- Week One

This summer I have also been teaching a clay class for kids through the DeForest parks and recreation dept. It is only 6 sessions, one hour each session. I have 2 groups of kids: K-3, then 4-7 (roughly, there are some overlaps). Some of the weeks I am teaching the same projects and other weeks we are doing different projects. The first week we made leaf dishes. They are very simple and a good way to teach about rolling slabs. First, you roll out a slab of clay, then place a leaf onto the clay. Roll over it with a rolling pin to make an impression. Then trace around it with a knife and cut out the clay leaf. Peel the leaf off and you can use a toothpick to make deeper indentations. You can leave it how it is and poke a hole in it for an ornament, or layer more leaves to make a clay leaf collage. What we did is gently placed them into a paper bowl to make a rounded shape for a dish.









Final step is to paint them!