Ceramics?

[Chloe335]

Hi! Anyone else a ceramics counsellor?? Im abit worried about being one now, as iv never taught ceramics before. Any ideas on what skills etc ur guna teach the kids would be great!! Thanks!

[camper]

i don't do ceramics at camp but i'm a ceramics class right now, the second level, i took the beginner one last trimester so that would be probably kind of what you'd be teaching...if you have wheels at your camp teach the kids how to throw simple bowls. pinch pots are REALLY easy for the younger kids too. you can also premake a bunch of square tiles and just have the kids glaze them however they want to. also definitely teach how to properly and safely glaze. another thing you can do is just give them clay and tell them to make whatever shapes they want, and then have them glaze them!

[Smudge]

At one of the camps I was at we did clay - the kids would just be given a lump of clay which they would then make into to whatever they wanted - it would then be fired and they would glaze it and re-fire it.

But without using a wheel they could make things like boxes and thumb pots.

[prettysocks]

I've never taught it, but I'm fairly pottery-competant.

If you want some interesting projects to do, here are a few ideas!

- wind chimes (Google "ceramic wind chime" for pictures).. You will also need string or fishing line to tie it together. Make sure they put holes in all the pieces before firing them!

- handprints .. Make a flat shape and press hand into it. Glaze the hand and the surrounding area different colours. They could 'write' the camp, year, name with a sharp tool, too.

- mug/cup .. Turn a bowl (made on the wheel, or by hand) into a mug by adding a handle!

- games .. For example, X's and O's (knots and crosses). Make the board by making a flat square and adding lines, or carving lines, or painting lines with glaze. Make little X's and O's by rolling "snakes" with the pottery (make an O and pinch together, and attach two small pieces for an X).

- beads .. Make a necklace or bracelet. Roll spheres, ovals, or make small cubes, and put a hole right through them. Once they're fired, glazed, and fired, thread them onto string and tie a knot!

Good luck and have fun! You'll do fine!