Clay & Glazing

This is my second year of doing ceramics and it has been so much smoother this time around! I gave fourth and fifth grade students more time (three days for the coil pots and two for glazing) and changed the procedures for glazing.  

We began the coil pots together, creating a slab and cutting out a medium circle by tracing a plastic lid.  Then, we made the first two coils and I made sure they attached them well.  After that, the design was their own.  I wanted them to make something personal that they loved, and I was so impressed their their work.  The animal bowls turned out beautifully, so I think I may have students make animal coil pots in the future.

For glazing, I had a counter set up with nine trays, each with labeled cups of a different color, brushes for each color, and the bottle of glaze.  I also had a laminated picture from the Blick catalog taped to the counter to show how they glazes would look after firing.  Students could get one color at a time with a brush from the tray (no rinsing brushes), do their three coats, and return the cup and brush.  This worked SO WELL and we used less glaze than last year when I had the glazes on the students' tables.  We had no issues with spilling or dropping cups of glazes.  I love having opportunities for students to be independent, so I will definitely be doing this again next year.