Drop-in Workshop at Brooks Building (21st of February)
- Mar 3, 2018
- 3 min read
Before the start of the drop-in sessions, we did the set-up of the room, providing each table with several pieces of clay and essential tools.
The past 21st of February, we delivered our first clay workshop at the Brooks building. This was a two-hour drop-in session, in which we welcomed several children and their families. Before the workshop, the group met during the previous day to discuss the activities that would be happening during the session. We decided to follow the idea I proposed in one my previous post: to divide the room into stations, so different ideas could be fully developed. One of the stations was called "textures in clay" and was aimed at small children. In this station, children were able to use different materials such as shells, bubble wrap, etc, to create textures in a slab of clay (Ideas proposed by Samrah and Silva.)
"Textures in clay" station.
Our station was called "imaginary animals" and was aimed at older children. Several pictures of animals were printed and put on the tables. The children were encouraged to make their own imaginary animals, using the images as a guide if they wished. Before the children started working with the clay, we made sure to explain the activity. I felt very hesitant at first, as I didn't' know how to proceed after delivering the instructions. However, the children started to engage and manipulate the clay almost immediately. I decided then to ask them about what they were doing and about their experience with clay, in hopes to get them to produce language.
My observations after the activity with the children were the following:
* Half of the children in our section were happy to make an animal out of clay, however, this wasn't an imaginary animal. For instance: they made owls, rabits and birds.
* Most of them worked individually. There was little conversation among them and therefore, language wasn't produced as much as I expected.
* While some children were happy to answer our questions and receive some guidance, others preferred to work quietly or interact with their family members.
* A couple of children who stayed longer decided to make different objects after finishing their animals, i.e: a pizza and a heart.
I believe one of the many positive things about this session was that the children were able to engage with clay and show enthusiasm for the pieces they were making. This is incredibly important since, one of our main concerns as a group, was that the children wouldn't be keen to create objects using clay. However, despite the fact that some of them hadn't much experience with the material, they weren't discouraged and took initiative to create what they wanted. This gave me confidence about the activities we will develop in upcoming sessions as I know now that most children are open to new experiences and discoveries, unlike some of us who felt quite overwhelmed during the PLANT NOMA visit.
Another positive aspect was the success of "imaginary animals". Many children made beautiful clay structures and were sorry they weren't allowed to take them home. The activity was an excellent way to prompt them to be creative and do the best they could to overcome the obstacles presented by clay.
Nevertheless, the fact that some children opted to do real animals and then, other objects, makes me believe that perhaps, the activity should be adapted to give participants more freedom of choice.
One thing I would like to improve in future activities is the interaction with language. As explained before, I tried to get the children to produce language by asking them what they were making. I also offered some guidance by suggesting clay methods such as cross-hatching. However, apart from that, the activity didn't involve much language. Perhaps, an activity which requires interaction in pairs or bigger groups could elicit language and conversations.
Comments