The Making of a Clay Fairy House

 One day, while a few children were exploring clay, the notion of building house emerged.  Several children pulled out some of the log blocks. 

 Pieces of clay were placed in the log "forest" as one child called it.  The piece with the hole in this photo was created for "lady bugs to crawl through."

 Another child created an umbrella to protect the creatures from rain.  He poked a wooden dowel on top of the clay "pancake" to make raindrop markings.  (It is the piece laid on top of the log in this photo.)  Pieces of clay became homes for bugs and butterflies.

One child decided to make a wee bird to sit on the tree.  Another made a place for spiders to walk.  

The next day,  two girls gathered at the clay table.  They chattered about the forest and the fairies.  "Fairies live in trees."  (I am so sad I do not have photos of the next phase.  But little clay fairies were formed and added to the landscape.)  

It was amazing to let the story unfold as each piece of clay revealed a new layer of the plot.   It was extraordinary to be a witness as simple organic shapes of clay became something so magic.

Creating Our First Reggio Chandelier

I love, love, love the look of the "Reggio" chandeliers.  

It was one of the must-do projects with my new class.

I wanted to start with a "natural" base.  Well . . . it just so happened that my son had a big pile of dead bushes in his backyard.  Viola!  A chandelier base!

Materials Used:

• assorted beads
• jewelry wire
• a bush branch

 A couple children in my class helped to select our bead palette - silver, clear, and white.

 I found the best times to work on the chandelier with the children was during arrival and after nap.  It is a perfect activity for soft and gentle moments.  Stringing beads is a lovely way to sit and talk.  

I put down black construction paper "work" mats to help the children "see" their beads and constructions. I prepared the wire strands by putting a bead at the end and wrapping it. I would lay these on the black mats - ready for little hands!

 I let the children build and create their own strings of beads.

 They loved deciding where to put their strand.  

After we completed the chandelier, I let the children decide where it would be hung.  They voted to have it above the block center.   Beautiful!

Glue Multi-Media Paintings

This is a very fun way to produce a process based painting.

I love the texture and dimension it produces!

 I begin with a canvas that the children have previously painted.  These canvases were painted with red, yellow, and orange paints.

What you need:

• glue
• liquid watercolors or food coloring (these will keep the glue transparent as it dries)
• plastic "stir pots"
• popsicle stick to stir the mixture
• assorted materials to stir into the pot (beads, yarn, little tiles, buttons, pieces of paper, etc.)
• plastic table cloth to protect your table (I buy them on sale)

The best part of this project is that the children mix up a brew of paint, glue and stuff.  I let the children squeeze their glue into the pot, I let them squeeze the paint, and add whatever they want from the buffet of materials.  Ooo so fun!! 

 The children LOVE making their own concoctions.  Pure bliss.

When the pot is ready - it is dumped onto the canvas.

 The mixtures are drizzled, dumped, swirled and applied in all sorts of ways.  It was so interesting to see one of my students discover how she could create swirls of orange on top of the yellow.  Another student added a bit of water to his mixture to see how it changed his mixture.

Let the painting dry flat.  It will take up to three days.

 Display!

It adds a lovely bit of color to the corner.

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Reggio Inspired: Chandeliers

The construction of chandeliers is a regular center in the Reggio Inspired classrooms.  The chandelier hangs in the room once it is complete. Two teachers I work with, Ms. Schouten and Ms. Winters, have some amazing chandeliers their children have constructed.  

This is a chandelier center in progress.  The base of the chandelier typically hangs over the working surface.  If you look, you can see containers of beads beneath the bicycle wheel (so dang cool) that is the base of this chandelier. 

A chandelier built on lattice wood.  I love the combination of white and clear beads.  

 This one is built on an old lamp's wire base.  Love it!

 Oh my word!  What fun!  A chandelier made on the wire base of an umbrella!!  Too cool!

 A chandelier built on a metal wire shelf.  I love the diversity of materials the children used for the dangling pieces.

 A chandelier constructed from a wicker lantern shaped basket.  Lovely.

 I have seen so many of these large flat baskets at garage sales.  Look how fabulously it works as a chandelier base! 

Chandelier built on a branch.  Notice the pieces of lace woven into the beads.

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! 

My Favorite Things: AlphaBeat

My Favorite Things:  What I feel every Early Childhood Teacher should have in their bag of tricks!

Here is my first recommendation:

If there was one CD I would recommend for movement with young children - it would be this one.  I first found this CD in my public library in 2003.  It has been a mainstay in my teaching practice ever since. 

Kate Kuper uses amazing visuals as she moves children's bodies in delightful and fun ways.  This CD is truly creative movement and dance at its finest.

Click here to go to her website.

On Kate's website you will find a companion guide and video of her teaching in action.   I have used this CD with children from three-years-old to seven-years-old.  The response is always the same - "Can we do it again?"

Promise.  It is worth its weight in gold.