The top benefits of pottery for children.

Ever thought about how clay play can benefit your child? Keep reading - this is super interesting stuff!

Kids are naturally creative and curious; thus, they have a need to express themselves and what better way than through an art!  By doing pottery they can create anything they set their minds to and the possibilities are endless.

My classes are two consecutive weeks based, In the first week we make an object that I have selected – guiding them through the steps and allowing creativity to take over. In the second week their now fired projects are ready for painting – we use the time to paint our project so that it is ready for its second and final firing. After this I ask children and parents to pop by and collect their final projects. This is the best part – this is where the children really get to boast and show off their talents with family and friends! Parents I can guarantee you that the little candy cane, snowman, snail, frog or succulent pot will be your pride and joy and will forever be displayed or hung on your tree or counter tops even when your child is way past making those little special goodies!  

•Clay has a calming effect on people, children and adults alike. I have had adults come to class and tell me the next week they have never felt so relaxed or slept so well after a pottery class.

•Clay gives children a sense of accomplishment - they can bring home something that they have created whether it be a decoration or a functional piece it is a wonderful sense of achievement and instills a sense of pride in your child. It’s something they or you can keep and admire for years to come. Parents love what their children make, and they become very sentimental pieces throughout the home. I still have every single little piece of pottery my son made starting at age 2!!!

•Being able to show off a piece or even gift a piece helps to promote self-confidence and pride which is just awesome!

•Clay promotes and encourages self-expression. Children interpret projects differently and each little project has a touch or more of your child’s personality mixed into it. For example, should I make a dog tail long? Curly? Short? Swirly? Will the roof om my house be flat or pointy? What happens if it falls? This in turn helps them with their development of problem-solving skills. It forces them to solve the problem and they must pursue the best outcome i.e. a roof that has collapsed – how can I fix this.

•The child is presented with a 3-Dimensional project and must solve how to add, remove, extend this object to create what they are visualizing! They must move the object round or themselves around the object. This helps them to problem solve using spatial awareness.

•I’ve noticed constantly in my clay classes how focused the children become, they love the feeling of squishing the clay in their hands! They giggle when the clay makes some weird noises. They don’t realize it but working with clay has a natural anti-stress quality to it and no matter what age it’s the same benefit for us all.

•Over time working with clay children develop more precise motor control and they understand that their actions have a lasting impact on the world.

•In my classes I give rules and guidelines this is to assist the children to learn from what they are making and enforces a discipline to follow rules and guidelines.

•Bring your child along to one of my workshops and watch the excitement of bringing the completed project home!