This month, the School-age 3 children explored modelling clay and eagerly used their hands to roll, pinch, flatten, and shape their ideas into creative pieces. Eleanora carefully crafted a soft, toy-like dinosaur that looked friendly and playful, while other children formed cups and bowls. As they worked, they discovered that adding water changed the texture of the clay, making it softer and smoother. Jaxon shared, “I am going to use water to fill out the cracks in my cup,” as he gently smoothed the surface with his fingers. When I asked, “What do you notice when you add water to the clay?” Iggy observed, “It gets really soft and shiny.” Fred added, “It’s easier to stick the pieces together,” and Kayleb explained, “If we don’t use too much, it doesn’t fall apart.” When asked, “How can you make your cup stronger?” Fred said, “I’m making the bottom thicker,” while Iggy shared that he was “pressing the sides harder so it won’t break.” Once their creations were complete, the children carefully set them aside to air dry, noticing how the clay slowly hardened over time. Eleanora proudly described her dinosaur, saying, “It’s a T-Rex and it is holding the pink heart.” Through this hands-on exploration, the children demonstrated creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration while strengthening their fine motor skills, patience, and confidence in working with different materials.
