Claylympics with 4th grade
I have never taught clay before, so I made it a goal of mine to do clay during my elementary placement. I’m learning a lot about clay management and how to operate a kiln. A big challenge for me is staying on top of the kiln schedule. I have five 4th grade classes and all of their pots need to be bisque fired, then their lids need to be bisque fired, AND THEN the glaze gets fired. I’m having a lot of fun teaching clay, but it is definitely the most time consuming project behind the scenes.
I want to share about the first day of my clay project, during which we had a “Claylympics” competition. First, we watched “The Pot That Juan Built,” which is about Mata Ortiz potter Juan Quezada. Then, I did a clay demo, showing students how to make a pinch pot and how to make it taller using coils. Finally, we had a “Claylympics!” I challenged students to roll the longest coil possible, and I gave them the duration of “Eye of the Tiger” to do it. With one class, I switched it up and challenged them to make the tallest pinch pot they could instead. This was a fun, engaging way for them to practice a skill I had just taught them.
