1st grade Clay hearts

 1st Grade Clay hearts 

This lesson is great for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or Christmas.

 Each student was provided with a ball of clay which they rolled into a slab. I provided handouts of hearts which they then traced around with a clay sculpture tool.

Students could add textures with various tools provided such as paint combs and textured rolling pins. The last step was to carve out a hole for a string. 

These only took a few days to dry so the following week students painted their hearts. I don't have a kiln so students used Crayola air dry clay. Acrylic paint works the best for providing bright colors but it is risky with this age group. I did have some students use tempera paint but the results were dull even after I sprayed them with acrylic gloss spray. If you can, try to use the acrylic paint. I do have aprons for all the students. 

After they were dry I sprayed them outside with gloss spray. With donations of bubble wrap from parents I wrapped all of them, added a string and sent them home. Hopefully they all made it without breaking! My students were so proud of them!