Group Learning Experience Planning Sheet:

Student Name: Jessica Edwards Course Code: ECS4070

Age Group: 4 to 5 years. Date:October 19th, 2017

Learning Experience: Art and fine Motor Activity- Polymer Clay Charms and Beads
Programming Purpose:

In the past few weeks the children have enjoyed using air-dry paper clay to create
different sculptures, explore tools, and engage in sensory play. However, the soft squishy
texture of these creations has led to some accidents. More specifically the children have
accidentally stepped on, squished or otherwise broken their creations and this has made many
of the children upset. Despite this the children still greatly enjoy working with playdough and
other similar materials.
The children also enjoy creating accessories out of paper such as bracelets, purses and
necklaces. I thought that creating their own clay charms would allow them to create less
fragile pieces that we could add to the classrooms dramatic center. The creation of beads and
other charms would also give us the opportunity to do some beading on a later date which can
help some of the students with lower fine motor skills practice their hand-eye coordination and
work the muscles in their hands and arms.
Objective:
The children will:
1) Engage in sensory play when kneading clay, creating textures, and experimenting with
colours and textures.
2) Practice visual literacy skills such as identifying shapes, colours and textures.
3) Practice fine motor skills when molding and kneading the firm polymer clay.

Materials Used:

Polymer Clay in various colours

Six Polymer Clay Texturing Tools
Various Glitters
Rhinestones
Plastic Knife
Eye Pins for creating charms
Paper Towel
Cleaning Spray
Set Up:

Chair

Polymer Clay
Baking Sheet

Clay
Texturing
Tools Glitter and Rhinestones

Implementation

1. I laid out the polymer clay and polymer clay texturing tools onto the arts and crafts
table.
2. I will invite the children to the table by discussing our previous paper clay sculptures.
3. I will ask each child which colours they would like and give a piece of each colour to
the children.
4. The children will then have the opportunity to create beads, charms or other figurines-
type items from their clay.
5. If the children choose to create beads I will show them how to use a pencil to poke a
hole in their clay to create a hole that will allow their piece to be used as a bead.
6. If the children choose to use their creations as charms I will use scissors to cut an
eyepin, which I will insert into their clay to that it can be used as a pendant-like piece
after being baked.
7. After showing the children how to create beads and charms, the children will have the
opportunity to explore the material and create anything they wish. I will encourage the
to try out different clay tools and help them mix in glitter with their clay or place
rhinestones into their clay to add shine.
8. After all of the children have completed their creations I will place any remaining
pieces onto our baking sheets and label a piece of tin foil with the childrens names.
9. I will clear the extra materials and tools from the table with the help of the children and
play them back into their container.
10. I will wipe down the table using cleaning spray and paper towels.
Learning Strategy #1
Questions
While the children are creating their pieces I will use questions to prompt discussion and
encourage the children to share their ideas about what they would like to create with their clay.
Examples for this activity include:
______ I see youre using green and blue, what are you going to create with your
clay?
___ I noticed youre making beads, how many beads do you think you will need to
make to create a bracelet?
______ what are you making with you clay? What inspired you to make it? What do
you like about it?
Learning Strategy #2
Sensory Engagement

The children in the classroom love sensory activities, especially dough-like materials. This
specific clay also gives the children several different types of sensory attributes to explore. The
oven bake clay we are going to use starts off very firm and gets softer as the oil and clay
recombine and condition the clay. The clay also comes in a large variety of colours. Some of
the colours of clay also have items inside that can change their textures. Examples include:

Creating textures by making imprints or pressing tools into the surface of the clay.
Kneading and handling the clay, and adding in glitter to change the softness and texture
of the clay.
Experiment with mixing, or coordinating colours as well as discussing other aspects of
the visuals of the clay.

Overall Evaluation
What worked during this experience? Why?

The activity opened discussion among the students about what they were creating. For
example some of the children created their favourite Shopkinz characters out of their
clay and this lead to a discussion about the toys, but also about the students favourite
foods, and what they like and dislike about going shopping.

The children created a variety of items with their clay including charms, beads,
sculptures and magnets.

I was initially concerned that the clay may have been too firm for some of the children
with lower fine motor skills to work with, but all of the children who participated were
able to mold the clay.

What did not work during this experience? Why?

 Due to the large amount of clay, glitter and other materials available I felt like we were
wasteful, lots of clay ended up on the floor. Sometimes, one child would seem to be
worried that a certain colour of clay may become unavailable, so they would take a
large piece, but end up not using the clay. To remedy this in the future, I would like to
cut the clay into cubes and gives each child the same amount of all colours. I would
keep extra and allow the children to trade as share colours as they needed, but we
would have a baseline amount of all materials for everyone participating.

Some of our creation were very small and may have posed as a possible choking
hazard for children in the classroom with special needs. While no incidents occurred, I
would like to find a secure container to carry our finished pieces in, rather than placing
them on a plain baking sheet.

What might you have done differently?

Divide colours out evenly to avoid being wasteful and make sure everyone has access
to all of the different colours of clay.

Use some type of carrying case to hold our creation when transporting them home to
be baked.

Allow the children to explore the materials more independently, out of fear of messes
or fighting over materials I sat the table for the majority of the activity rather than
supervising from other areas in the classroom.