Pinch Pots!!!!

Kindergarten artists are learning about clay and texture and then creating a pinch pot. We will discuss how clay comes from the ground, can be different colors (gray, white, brown, reddish-orange) and has a texture. Texture is the way something feels: bumpy, smooth, soft, hard, squishy, rough, etc.




On the learning carpet, we are having the children feel their hair, clothes and shoes and describe the texture to us. We are showing pictures of Native American pottery to give the children inspiration for making their pinch pot. To create a pinch pot, the children follow the steps:


1. Roll it (into a nice smooth ball of clay)
2. Thumb it (stick thumb in middle but not all the way through)
3. Pinch it (keeping the thumb in the hole and rest of the fingers on the outside, children are pinching the clay to make the hole bigger and create the pot's walls)
4. Check it (have Ms. Zimmerman or myself make sure the pinch pot walls are not too thin or thick)
5. Smooth it (rubbing away all the little cracks)


Clay takes around 7-12 days to dry. After Thanksgiving break, the children will use underglaze to paint a color pattern on their pinch pot. After that, I will fire their pinch pot in the kiln. The children will be painting a clear glaze over the top to make their pots safe for eating and drinking from. Most of them will not be big enough to drink from, but I like to have that option for the children.

 2 artists sticking their thumb in their clay before pinching it open to make their pot.

An awesome artist working super hard on his pinch pot

 Awesome artists pinching their clay

 Just some of the Pinch Pots from Wednesday!

The kiln that I fire the pinch pots in.