Clay Procedures
Please try the project at home before doing it with the class. Please remember that
their hands are smaller and their bodies weigh less. Rolling out flat pieces of clay is
difficult for younger children and almost impossible for kindergarten. If they need
flat pieces, plan on having adult helpers roll out the clay before the kids get there.
Plan for needing more helpers.
Basic Setup









There are enough basic tools for each student to have their own setup.
Set up the tables before the students come into the cafeteria.
Cover the cafeteria tables with the blue table clothes on the clay cart. The outdoor
tables do not need to be covered unless you are glazing.
Set out a board for each student.
Set out 2 large wooden sticks and a rolling pin if students will be rolling out the
clay.
Set out a wooden carving tool to cut out designs that were traced and for general
design drawing.
Set out a poker for scoring and carving details.
Set out a small cup of water to smooth edges and to make “slip” for scoring.
The clay is being stored in the Art Vistas room. There may be new clay in large
blocks and recycled clay in a stack of small slabs. Please use the recycled clay
when available. Any unused clay should be returned to the Art Vistas room. Place
scrap into an empty clay bag and seal it with a tie. Unused clay will be recycled.
Please place empty clay bags and plastic separator sheets in the clay room to be
reused.
Special Items

We have lots of special texture items to add interest to the projects. They are in
labeled bins. Bring out whatever you like just make sure it is put back.
o Lace for rolling a pattern into a project
o Seashells to press a pattern
o A box of additional texture items
o Patterns to trace are in the green file box (circles, seasonal shapes, letters)
o Cookie cutter shapes including letters and numbers
o Garlic presses to make hair
o Pastry rollers to add lines
When the students arrive


Have the students sit on the floor and explain the project. This lets the students
and parent helpers know what to expect.
It is very helpful to have an example to show to the students. If the project is
complex it helps to have samples of different steps.

Remind the students how the tools are used. I.e. pokers and sticks are not
weapons. The tools should be taken away if used this way.
Making the project







Have parent helpers at each table. Circulate around and help when needed.
Remind the students to use a wet finger to smooth the edges of their project. If
edges are not smooth they will be very sharp after they are fired.
Have parents write the child’s name and the date on the bottom of each project
with the poker as they finish.
Place the projects in the cardboard box for transport back to the clay room.
Put all clay creations on the wooden clay room shelves. They must come out of
the cardboard boxes.
Fill out the form in the clay room with Teacher name, date and your name and
phone number. Place one form on each shelf with your projects. This lets me
know when to fire the clay and helps me contact you if there is a problem. The
greenware must dry for 7 days before it can go in the kiln. Then it takes 2-3 days
to be fired and unloaded. Please plan for this and schedule clay and glazing at
least 2 weeks apart.
After they are fired, projects will be stacked in a box and, if shelf space is
available, stored until glazing day. If we need the shelf space, they will be moved
to the classroom.
Clean up







Teach the students to put away their own tools. Set up containers in an assembly
line and have them put everything away.
Left over clay that is still in the block can be closed up in the bag and put back in
the Art Vistas room.
Scrap clay that the students used can be bagged up separately and put back in the
Art Vistas room. The used clay will be recycled.
Send the students to the student bathrooms to wash their hands. The cafeteria
bathroom is meant for the staff. Depending on the grade the teacher may take the
students who finish first back to the classroom. You can send the other students in
pairs as they finish.
If you used the rollers you need to scrap them clean. Use the side of a fork to
scrap the clumps of clay off before they harden.
Straighten out the rest of the tools and put them back on the cart.
Please do not use the kitchen sink for any clay clean up. Use the hose outside the
kitchen and a bucket. Please dump all dirty water down the drain outside.
Important Reminders


The clay should be cut to size for each project and set out as the students are
arriving. If the clay sits out on a warm day it will start to dry out.
Watch out for hazardous creations. No object can be bigger than a golf ball
without an air escape hole. No hollow sealed balls. The trapped air expands in the




kiln and the project will explode! Use the poker to “drill” a hole in the bottom of
the project. The air needs a way out. Also, repetitive folding of clay will create air
pockets.
Two pieces of clay must be “scored” to join them. Drying clay shrinks and two
pieces will separate if not scored. To score, scratch the surface of both pieces with
a fork or poker. Then use a finger dipped in water to create “slip” on each piece.
This only takes a small amount of water. It is better to ‘pull out” a nose than to
“attach” a nose.
Any hair created with the garlic press must be firmly attached to the main body of
the piece. It cracks very easily as it dries and will crumble if it is not supported.
Long, thin clay projects break easily. In the “greenware” state, before the first
firing, clay is very fragile. Keep long flat extension pieces less than 2 in. long. We
do our best to be careful but please help us by not creating very long arms, necks,
ponytails, etc.
Clay shrinks as it dries. Make any hole larger than it needs to be when finished.
This is important if you are making candlesticks.
Very large projects take up a lot of room in the kiln (not to mention a lot of
glaze). It will take us longer to fire many large projects. The kiln takes a full 24
hours to cycle through each time.