Tried and True – First Grade Coil Pots

Working with clay is such a valuable experience to have. It awakens our hands in such a unique way; the soft mushy texture, the pushing and pulling, the squeezing and pinching – it is so satisfying!

So even though we don’t use “real clay” (clay that comes from the earth) here in the 89 Art Room, good ol’ Model Magic does the trick, allowing us to use our hands in that same fantastic way.

First graders rolled, balled, pinched, pulled and sculpted their Model Magic as they learned how to make coil pots. Some chose to build a classic style pot with layers and layers of carefully stacked snakes of clay and others created their own style by modifying the shape of their vessel and adding ball or swirl clay embellishments.

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We Make Do With What We Have!

Like many art teachers, at some point, I have a great lesson idea but am at the mercy of the materials available, or the time available, or the space available – and need to improvise! It keeps things interesting, and challenges me to always problem-solve creatively.
I love coil pots and ceramics, but am without a kiln here at 89. To keep the unit as part of my 1st grade curriculum I have decided to use good ole’ Model Magic instead of clay, and I think the students were still able to sculpt beautiful pots with it.
First graders learned how to use their hands to pinch, press and roll the clay into balls, spirals, patties and snakes that we used to build our sculptures. In the end, a coat of watercolor paint and a few coats of glaze finished off the project.
Here are a few samples.

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