Reggio Inspired: Clay Play

The following photos are from two classrooms at Rosa Parks Preschool, Mrs. Winters and Mrs. Terry. A huge thank you to the teachers!!

It begins with one slice of clay. 

A blank canvas receptive to endless explorations . . .

Squishing and pulling pieces off.

Using a tool to make markings and indentations.

Exploring the ability the clay has to hold an object upright.

Making textures and impressions.

Working with the small pieces - focusing on the details.

Clay exploration pieces on display.  Mrs. Terry figured out how to make these great shelves.  Love it!

The clay pieces are allowed to air dry.
I noticed one teacher had put an acrylic finish over some of the dried pieces and it worked beautifully.

TIPS:
Provide clay boards.  A clay board is a board covered in muslin.  You can use a tray as well.
Provide a piece of clay on the board.
Do not instruct the children.  Allow open and free exploration.
Clay play works well as a small group center or station with 4 to 6 children.

BENEFITS OF CLAY PLAY:

• Developmental growth:
• Manipulating (squishing, squeezing, pulling, pushing, etc)  a piece of clay helps develops the child’s large and small muscles - improving dexterity.
• Fosters eye-hand coordination. 
• Builds a child's ability to focus/builds attention span. 

• Mathematical Understandings:
• Fosters beginning pattern making.
• Builds an experiential understanding of 3-dimensional shapes.
• Tactical experience of size and weight differences

• Literacy growth:
• builds vocabulary - pound, pinch, roll, flatten, poke, tear squeeze, coil, stretch, squash, twist, and bend
• Creative story telling with clay pieces

And so much more!