The Downside to Clay

I have been spending the past two weeks on fourth grade clay projects in the art room.  Usually, each grade level from third to sixth gets to do one clay project per year.  This year, however, the fourth grade lucked out and got two projects.  This is thanks to Mr. Larson.

Mr. Larson is new to our school this year, but not new to the district.  He was the fourth grade science teacher at my children's elementary school.  Helena and Will both had him back in the day.  He got enticed out to our school this year since (I think) it is closer to his home.  I think there was another reason he told me about, but I can't remember and it really doesn't matter anyways.  Kind of a bummer that he'll be forced to relocate at the end of this year, along with half of the staff since we'll be losing more than half our student population.  That is a topic for another day, though.

Well, Mr. Larson happens to be an excellent teacher.  I have know that for years, so when he came to me with a request, I was happy to grant it.  He wondered if I would be willing to make Fremont figurines with his class as a follow up on some of their social studies.

Great!  I did it with the whole fourth grade and we had a ton of fun!

Then, of course, I still wanted to do my traditional coil construction pottery with the kids, so I decided to wrap that lesson up in Anasazi pottery to keep with the social studies theme and they LOVED it!

Here is the perpetual problem with clay projects...

What do you do with the student who was absent for the making of the project?  Whether due to illness, or a family trip to Disneyland (that one happens a LOT), how do you handle that?  Everyone else has one to glaze, but not him/her.

Or how about the kid who started one, but was absent when the rest of the class finished?

What about the kid who breaks their clay project before it can be fired?  Or broke it on their way home and now mommy is on the phone with you wanting you to help her precious child make a new one so he/she will stop crying about it?

These are all frustrating problems that I deal with on every art project, but it is magnified by the clay projects because the kids care about the clay project about a thousand times more than any other project, and it is next to impossible to get them 'caught up'.  I refuse to run the full (high electric bill) kiln for ONE little clay piece!  I also don't like giving up my lunches day after day to children who just spent the past week in Disneyland instead of class!  Or for students who wrecked the first one, and are just going to wreck the second one because that is their nature or talent.

Alright.  Enough grumping.

Good night.