Let Kids Experiment with Different Colors of Clay

Kids love color! It can sometime be a challenge when you are working with kids in clay because the usual grey or brown of clay isn’t as exciting as the colors in modeling clay or play dough.  One option is to glaze the pieces but that generally requires two firing and a big delay between the creation of a piece and completion. In between, kids can lose interest and enthusiasm.

One solution I have found to create the fun of colors with clay is to offer kids a variety of clay. Different types of clay come in different colors and as you can see from the ooglys in these pictures, the contrast of the reds, browns and greys create just the kind of visual interest kids are seeking.

Plus, by using clays that all fire to the same tempertures in a single firing, kids get their pieces back quickly without having to wait through multiple firing. Students can see the contrast in their pieces as they make them so for the most part, what they see is what they get after it’s fired. That can also reduce the disappointment factor that can happen when glazes don’t produce the colors kids expect.

As you can see here – you don’t have to have red, yellow and blue to create colorful clay projects for kids!