'Potters' Wheel, Part One

This post was originally written in the fall but not posted. Since pottery was such great fun for us, I decided to turn our time into a few posts for ya'all. Here is Part One.

Have I shared with you how I temporarily lost my eldest to Harry Potter? Well, in a couple of short months he blew through the series and was completely hooked. He isn't a creepy warlock kid, he's just a boy who will stay up very late at night reading. He sneaks under the covers after 'lights out' with a flashlight to continue a chapter or more. His offenses could be much worse, I am aware.

That said, we had a potter's class in the fall and he was tickled as all get out about the "Potter's'" wheel connection. I am certain the sensation of throwing on a wheel would have appealed to him regardless of his HP preoccupation but it made for fun puns along the way.

And so, as I was saying, we've been working with pottery a bit. Our interest was heightened when we visited Portland and the kids spent two good days playing pottery in the backyard. Hours of hand forming, reminded us of how simple and rewarding clay, water and paint brush can be.

When we returned and settled into our school routine, the art for the semester was an easy pick. We had private lessons at a local ceramic studio. Throwing on the wheel and creating a bowl from a chunk of clay provided hands on learning at it's finest.

It was interesting how the task translated to each child a little differently and each bowl was perfectly unique as it came to it's desired form.

Next up: clay forming at home