1s clay and watercolor

This week I offered the 1s class a similar clay provocation as the older kids. Instead of giving them clay slabs to work with, I presented the clay in balls and coils and set popsicle sticks on the table (no pointy toothpicks for this group). Clay in this form is easier to pick up and manipulate than in the form of a slab, which makes for a new kind of exploration.
A new friend, Grayson, joined us for class this week and was immediately interested in the clay.
Pretty soon, I brought out a variety of tools and water to continue the exploration.
Aly was curious about the materials on the shelf as well as the liquid watercolors at the easels.

At the end of class I brought out some large watercolor paper and different stencil-like shapes for each child. They painted the paper with liquid watercolor then placed the shapes on the paper. The watercolor tends to pool up underneath the shape and when it drys you can see a darker image of the shape on the paper. Electra came over to paint, and sat down right on top of her paper!