My school installed a kiln last summer. 

This is the FIRST time in 13 years that I have been a teacher, that I have had a kiln in my building. WOOP WOOP!!! It is so exciting!! 

Since I haven't taught a clay project in 3 years, I was worried my skills would be rusty, but we had a practice day with modeling clay and then we did the entire thing in one day. I demonstrated under the document camera and they hand built and it worked pretty well. I did clay with 6 classes back to back.

I did separate the clay by a week for RED day kids vs. WHITE day kids so that I would have plenty of room for drying. It took 3-4 copy paper lids for each class to fit all of the projects, with 5 for some of the biggest classes. Even still, I wish I would have given everyone a LITTLE more clay so that their creations would've been a bit bigger. 

For our practice with modeling clay, everyone made an owl. This way I could demo how to make a beak and add eyes. For the clay demo, I showed how to make a generic monster so I could show how to add spikes, texture and teeth. Also, the added step of score and slip. 

The idea is that we would make a head/creature/character that would have an open mouth or opening in it's back big enough to use it as a phone docking station or a speaker amplifier. That did not happen for most kids...they were just too small and their phones are just too big.

​But they were happy to have little sculptures all the same. We made two pinch pots, scored and slipped them together to make an egg, and then we cut it open and attached the parts....it was pretty basic. The hardest part was trying to do this in 47 minutes. 

I organize the clay in copy paper box lids. Kids set their sculpture on the colored paper that matches their table color in the box labeled with their teacher's name. This way, during drying, I can keep track of everything. I write the date on a sticky note in the bottom of the box, otherwise it is easy to lose track of what needs to be fired and when. 

Anticipating getting a kiln a few years down the road, I started buying clay accessories since I didn't actually need to purchase the clay yet. I bought stilts, glazes and 3 dozen of these masonite 8X8 paddle bats.

We used them for hand building and even for carrying around our clay from table to table during glazing. During clean up, students had to wipe them down and put them back in the middle of the table. We also use old pencils for scoring.....

These bats helped keep our clay from sticking to the table while we were working and it helped them carry their clay to the shelf when they were finished. Only one kid dropped his on the way over there. And we both laughed until we cried at the site of the splatted head. 

Before using the paddles, I EMPHATICALLY laid down the law that they would not be used for paddling, or pretend paddling of any bottoms!! Anyone caught pretending to whip anyone would get an automatic office referral and their clay would not be fired. If it was before clay, they would sit out at the office while the rest of us made our clay sculptures. #middleschool

Once the clay had been bisque fired, we were ready to glaze. I prepped some glaze cookies so the kids would have a realistic idea of what the colors looked like. I've ordered the Mayaco Stroke'n'coat class pack the past two years in anticipation of the kiln and I am glad I did.

Now I just need a couple of refills for next year and I am set on having a large variety of color choices. I set up the glazes in three pallets. 

Three tables had cool colors: blues, purples, greens. 
Three tables had hot colors: reds, oranges, yellows.
Three tables had neurtrals: whites, browns, black and an extra pink. 

Note to self: order gray and extra red Hot Tamale next year. I had plenty of options for pink so I encouraged kids to glaze pink inside their open mouths instead of red, as we needed to save red for the plethora of cardinals! 

I labeled the side of the condiment container and the lid with the name of the glaze. I told kids to check both before glazing as sometimes lids get put on the wrong color, and that only happened a couple of times. This method worked out perfectly. When I've used baby food jars in the past, it was hard to label and the rim always got gunked up. Now, they stay pretty clean and are easy to refill. Hopefully they don't dry out after a semester and I can reuse them over and over. I will let you know the verdict when I pull them out again in a couple of weeks. 

To advertise the colors, I posted a little poster with the name of the glaze and the glazed cookie for them to see. After going over a few basic rules, I let students move around the room to access the glazes of their choice. I love the realistic colors of the Stroke'n'coat glazes, but I do want to order some fun speckled glazes in the future. 

For an interactive version, click here or on the picture above. If you click on it, you can zoom in to read the information.

Recently, I shared a mind map of Web 2.0 tools.

Today, I want to share a mind map of Mobile Tools.

I really wanted to try out a new site: Mural.ly

I have had this app for a really long time...and my subscription to the other mind mapping site is about to end so I thought I would give it a try. This is a pretty cool site for mind mapping, I would definitely try it again.

While working on this Mind Map (made extremely more difficult while also learning a new tool), I found the most amazing Bloom's iPad Wheel. It does a much better job of explaining my idea...I thought it would be great to attach it here as a reference...it is really better than mine...I know... ;-)

It's a marker. It's paint. It's an oil pastel.

It was hard to explain to my students exactly what we were using....but the results are kind of awesome.

Normally, this lesson is done with white paint the first week on a dark color of construction paper, like black. The 2nd week, I have students use chalk to draw the details of the owl over the top of the dried white paint. This year, I took the plunge and invested in a class set of the Play Color and Metallic Play color poster paints. We used them in place of the chalk pastels. 

The colors were so vibrant! Also, these poster paints basically eliminated the mess that chalk creates with this project. The initial investment is rather expensive, but now that I have the class pack, I can order another one and I will always have some extra in the future. 

I did remind mine NOT to twist the color all the way out. I noticed that one of the reds had been mistreated...and the tip broke off...but I pushed it back into the hollow tube and it worked okay for a while. I also show them not to rub the paint at first, it will feel wet, but it dries fast. I like these because they don't smear like oil pastels. 

I was very happy with the class pack. It was just enough for my 13 classes of K and 1st to do this project. I still have some left over, but probably not enough to do a big project like this again.  The metallic silver and gold are exceptionally nice. 

Week 1
Materials Required: black 16X10 construction paper, white crayons, white tempera paint, books about owls, owl pictures, 

Goals & Objectives: The primary goal of this lesson is for the student to use lines and shapes.
GLEs Accomplished In Lesson: 
Kindergarten
PP 3. G Create an original artwork that communicates ideas about the following themes: Outdoors (seasons, nature) EP1.A Identify and use lines 1.B Identify and use shapes, Categorize large and small 1.E Identify and use color
1st Grade
PP 1.A Fill an area with solid color/value using crayon, pencil, or marker
1.B Apply paint with a dragging, not pushing motion
EP 1.B Identify and use triangle, circle, square, rectangle and oval shapes
Categorize large and small and medium

Procedure (Guided Lesson, Instructions, etc): 
This year, I requested my librarian to order some new books about owls. As a result, there are many cute ones to choose from. I selected the book: Little Owl's Night. It is SO cute!

Project (Steps, Examples, etc):
1. Read the owl book to students. I showed everyone what they could do after painting, because the painting really doesn't take the whole art time. I show them all of the owl books in the room, I have some art centers set up with an owl magazine, a coloring page of an owl, and markers to use for that. I also have a couple of 'worksheets' about owls that they can do. Many choices. 
 2. When I distribute the paper, I demonstrate where to write their names. I have all of the papers folded 'tall and skinny' in half.....so that the back is making a peak in front of them when I set it down, and we will flip it over, and do the painting on the other side. I quickly have them write their names on the back, with a white crayon and then put on a paint shirt. I pick up all of the white crayons as soon as they are done with names...so that they don't accidentally try to draw the owl. 
3. I demonstrate on my painting, how to paint a large 'B'. Put the stem of the B on the fold. It HAS to be on the fold. Paint the curved lines of the B and fill the whole thing in solid white. 
4. Fold over gently, rub the back of the paper (one boy threw his on the ground and stomped on it….it did make a cool texture for feathers)……open it up and see a symmetrical owl…This is a really big "WOW" moment..I make a big deal of of it...ARE YOU READY FOR THIS? before I open mine up. 
5. Lastly, demo how to add a tree branch, stamp the brush for leaves, add a full or crescent ‘c’ moon, and add a few small stars. Mention that they should be careful not to totally cover the paper with white paint…it will be a snow scene and the owl won’t show up….Explain that next week, we will draw on the details, once the white paint is dry. Students need to put them in the drying wrack to dry. 
6. Pass out the paint, let students work…cleanup.


Week 2
MATERIALS
Play Color Poster Paint, glue, 12X18 paper for the frame

Procedure/Steps/Examples
1.Today we are finishing the owl. The white paint is dry. I taught students this fun owl poem:
The Owl
There’s a wide-eyed owl
With a pointed nose.

He has pointed ears
And claws for toes.

He sits in a tree
And looks at you.

Then he flaps his wings
And says, “Tu-whit, tu-whoo”

2. Since coloring the owl does not take the whole art time, I had supplies available for students to make an owl puppet. I have a cute printed mini owl that they can color and cut out and attach a puppet stick. 
3. Demonstrate how to use the Play Color Poster Paints to add the details. Draw the eyes, add a beak (I showed an easy way and a hard way), add feathers for the wings...students could put one wing and a belly or two wings. Demonstrate how to color the tree, leaves, moon, and stars. Remind them that they do not have to color the sky since it is already black like night, but if they want to make it more spooky, they can put purple and blue around the background like a spooky haze.
4. Demonstrate how to add a frame around the edges. I had 3 colors for them to choose from. Students had to glue the owl in the center, and put lines around the edges. I demonstrated how to draw the lines on the bottom, then turn the paper all the way around as they add lines to each edge. 

Assessment and Reflection: The students will use the play color poster paints to color a night owl scene according to a teacher constructed rubric. Students should be able to use the white paint, the poster paint, draw the shapes, and color essential parts of the composition with little or no teacher assistance.