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Plastic caddies are great for quickly and easily distributed and storing clay tools and 1 caddy should be placed at each table and can even be color-coded to match the table color if desired. Affordable Clay Tools: 1) Plastic forks are perfect for creating scratch lines in clay (ex. when joining pieces of clay together or adding fur texture), 2) Popsicle sticks make kid-safe fettling knifes, 3) Pencils are great for adding small details and incising clay, 4) Oversized sponges can be cut into smaller pieces and used to help smooth larger areas of clay projects.
Precut & Portion Clay in advance for easy distribution to students. I usually ball up the pieces & put in plastic gallon bags.
Left to Right: Baby food jars of slip, plastic Tupperware containers of extra pieces of clay, & small pieces of canvas. (Tips from Elementary Art Teacher, Name Withheld for Privacy)
Containers & Distribution Prep: Small airtight containers work great for storing slip as well as for storing extra clay (plastic) for students to add to their in-progress projects. Be sure to have at least one of each of these types of containers at each table for students to share. Small pieces of canvas function great as placemats to help reduce clay dust, to prevent the clay from sticking to the table, and to make cleanup quicker.
Prepping Slabs: Slabs formed in advance for a class can be stored in a large plastic tote or bag by laying them on top of each other, being sure to separate the slabs with 1-2 sheets of durable paper (such as manilla). Storing slabs flat, sandwiched in paper also helps firm up the slabs by wicking away some of the moisture so that the slabs are stronger and easier to construct with the next class. Just be sure not to leave the same piece of paper on for over a week as this can cause mold and/or make the paper fall apart and get stuck on the clay.
Slab rollers greatly reduce the amount of time and effort it takes to prepare slabs.
Pre-Designate Places for Students to Place In-Progress Work: For projects that will last multiple class periods, putting pieces of masking tape and on the bottom of a deep plastic bin and labeling the pieces of tape with each student's name helps students know where to put their project at the end of each class. The bin can also be labelled on the exterior with the name of the homeroom teacher. Identical bins can be easily stacked to conserve on storage space.
Writing Student Names on Projects: For 1 day projects and the final day of projects, prewrite student names on paper or on taped spaced in a tray or box. This allows the teacher to write student names and class codes neatly on the bottom of each project at a slightly later time when the piece has become more leatherhard, with less damage to the piece.
Easily Rehydrate Dried Out Clay: You can revive old, dried out clay fairly easy. All you need is a big bucket, water, a plastic bag without holes, and a twist tie.
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