First Grade is no different. Every year we teach the kids how to make snowpeople out of ceramic clay, fire, glaze, fire again, and then dress the snowpeople up with pipe cleaners and hot glue. In addition, they make a ceramic clay tree ornament (may as well, right? Since we're firing the kiln anyway!).
The following are the the steps to teach the snowperson. The trees will be in another, separate post. Before I teach anything, I read to them The Biggest, Best Snowman by Marjorie Cuyler, because it's about a girl who is "too little" to be helpful, but she teaches her animal friends how to make a snowman, step by step, but any book about snowmen/women will do.
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| photo by amazon.com |
Materials:
Bag of ceramic clay (to fire to cone 06)
Clay cutter made of wire
Paper towels
old pencils or bamboo skewers
water (acts as "glue")
I gather the kids together on the rug and demonstrate how to make a complete snowperson before breaking out into small groups. On my lap I have a board, a chunk of clay, a skewer, and a small bowl of water. Once I've done that, kids make their own snowperson during a small group rotation, and pretty much know what to do. I also have a completed snow person, but the head is not attached, an example of what will happen if you fail to score and slip the ball together...but they don't know that yet. Ha!
1. Make three balls from the chunk of clay, a large, medium, and a small one. Roll each so the cracks are minimal, but stress that it's not that important. If they overwork the clay, it will begin to dry out and not be as flexible.
2. Use a pencil or skewer to make "tic tac toe" on each ball of clay . This will act as teeth, or a lock, so the balls can be connected and not fall apart once the clay is dry. This is actually called "score and slip" but I've found over the years that this simpler language works better.
3. Once two balls have the tic tac toe scratched on, put a tiny drop of water on one of them (the "slip" part of score and slip), then match up the tic tac toes. Gently push and twist (a 1/4 inch either way) the balls together. I make a "chk, chk, chk" sound when I do it so they can get an idea of how much pressure and how many twists to do. To test the strength of the bond, gently pick up the whole thing by the top ball. If it stays, chances are it's bonded well. Continue with the third ball, remembering that both balls need to have the scoring so they bond. If too much twisting occurs, take it apart and re-score it. "If you don't do this step this is what happens..." then I tap the head of the completed snow person and they crack up as it rolls away!
4. Let the kids use the skewer to add facial features and buttons (dots) if desired.
5. Have an adult use the skewer to create a hole through the center ball. Put the skewer all the way through to the other side and wiggle a little as the hole will shrink slightly when fired. This is for the pipe cleaner arms at a later time.
6. Add student's name on the bottom ball. If the bottom ball is larger than about 2 1/2 inches, slide a straightened out paper clip up the center (yes, like a you-know-what-hole) so any residual moisture can escape during firing.
7. Let them dry for at least 7 days, longer if you have the time.
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| Wet snowmen will dry for at least 7 days. |
When firing is over, the clay has turned white! The kids are joyous when they arrive and see the transformation. Next we get to glaze.
Glazing
Glaze is literally liquid glass. It used to be that it was really tricky for kids, with green glaze actually looking like red paint, but now it's more straight forward. There is an element of fun and mystery, as glaze is pretty muted when they paint it on and very bright and shiny once fired. It also dries very quickly and kids are usually astonished at that for some reason.
Materials:
Non-toxic glaze (clear gloss or matte)
old paintbrushes
water
1. Demonstrate how to cover the entire snowperson in glaze, even the face, the head, the back, all over, (I say all this because they will ask!) EXCEPT the very bottom. If any glaze gets on the bottom, it's important to clean it off with a wet sponge as it will fuse to the shelf during firing.
2. Once all kids have glazed, make sure you clear the center holes of any glaze, as they will be clogged if you don't.
3. Fire to cone 06 again, but hold for 10 minutes at the peak temperature.
Now the snowpeople are white and shiny!
Getting Dressed
The kids love this entire project, but I think this is their favorite part! They get to choose what their snowperson wears and dress it up.
Materials:
fabric strips or yarn (scarf)
brown pipe cleaners (arms)
colored pipe cleaners (hat)
fuzzy balls for the hat (hat)
hot glue gun (adults only)
scissors
Again, in small groups, follow the steps:
1. Cut a brown pipe cleaner in half and put it through the center ball. Curl the ends or otherwise make it look like sticks.
2. Use a colored half pipe cleaner for the hat. Twist the pipe cleaner around your finger to make a swirl and squish it down so it looks like a beanie. Hot glue it to the head.
3. Choose a fluffy ball and hot glue it to the hat.
4. Choose fabric strip or yarn for the scarf and tie it around the neck.
Voila!!
On the final day, kids get to wrap their snowpeople in tissue and put them in a Dollar Store plastic gift bag (the ones that come 25 to a pack and usually used for baked goods).
This project, and other ceramic projects I do throughout the year, is one of the things I love best about teaching. What a great way to build confidence, foster acceptance and responsibility for their own work, and create a one-of-a-kind-mothers-can't-live-without heirloom! It doesn't have to be a "Christmas" project if your school's policy doesn't allow for holidays. Make the snowmen in January and create a winter wonderland!
During this time period, I also go on a "field trip" to the room that houses the kiln. It's just an oven that gets really, really hot (about 2,000 degrees), but for some reason the word "kiln" makes people shutter. In addition, I teach about the properties of clay-that it's from the earth, it's a
Troubleshooting*
*Sometimes after firing, heads roll! No biggie. Just glaze the pieces and make sure they are put back together when you put them in the kiln, glaze touching glaze. The glaze will fuse the pieces together. If you forget to do that, just use some Elmer's glue when the project is complete. DO NOT glue them together before firing though, as the glue will just disintegrate.
*Remember to not let any glazed areas touch the kiln shelves. A tiny amount will not matter, but unless you want a shelf stuck to your project, clean it off or set it on top of a pedestal with metal teeth. I once had to let a child take his turtle (different project) home with one of those pedestals permanently attached, so watch out!
*Glaze is water soluble. It is cleaned up with water and can be thinned out with water if it's too thick in the jar. It will melt in the kiln and re-harden as the kiln cools, so minor scratches/dents/mistakes in the glaze probably won't show. Make sure you are using NON TOXIC glaze.
*Since the materials are comparatively expensive, we return unused glaze back into the bottle. This is not what a professional would do, but since it's elementary school, we are fine with a little "stuff" in our glaze.
Have fun with this and don't be afraid to make mistakes!
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