So why is it that kids value clay work so much?

So why is it that kids value clay work so much? I think the answer has its roots in

the fact that for almost all of manʼs time on the planet, we have been makers of things.

When ancient man became a tool maker it was a huge leap forward in human evolution.

Our tools and our brains developed hand in hand in a symbiotic relationship throughout

history. Making things is most likely hard wired into our brains. For thousands and

thousands of years we have been makers of things. The act of making and creating are

what make us human.

In our modern culture, kids are cut off from the process of making things. Most

little kids do not get to learn how to cook, sew or use hand tools in the kitchen or the

workshop. I once taught a second grade child who did not know what an egg yolk was.

A kid who was born 100 years ago would not only know what an egg yolk was, but

probably would have collected the eggs from beneath the chickens that morning and

then went and milked the cow. When my son was little he sat on the kitchen counter

while his mom was baking. He loved cracking the eggs into the bowl and stirring things

up, those were his jobs. Sadly in todayʼs world, not all kids get to do this.

There is a disconnect in the modern world when it comes to kids growing up and

learning to use their hands and their imagination to learn. Even the games they play are

changing. In the past a kid might build things with Legos, blocks or an erector set. (My

favorite toys as a kid were a hammer and a bag of nails. I built lots of tree forts in my

youth.) Today kids play video games that donʼt require any hands-on thinking. Then

they go to school and todayʼs schools are focused on abstract thinking. Kids learn

about numbers, words and ideas but they get little hands-on experience processing the

information they are learning about. They read books and fill out worksheets and

teachers think they are teaching the kids something. Direct hands-on experience is how

kids learn, unfortunately todayʼs school curriculum is focused on abstractions instead of

concrete real world learning experiences. I once watched a teacher present a lesson on

rocks and geology without showing the kids any real rocks. The lesson was taught by

filling in answers on a worksheet. I would love to unplug the Xerox machines at schools

across America for a month. If it forced teachers to do more hands-on activities, I

guarantee teaching and learning would surge.

Here is an example of abstract thought being valued more than direct hands-on

experiences. Every year in my school district, kids in grades 3-12, start the year in

science studying units of measurement. The kids learn about the metric system and

how to convert metric units to Imperial units and vice versa. What they rarely do is

measure any real things using these metric units, or if they do some actual measuring,

they only do it one time, on one day. Most kids have no idea how heavy something is

that weighs ten grams. They canʼt visualize which would be more, one liter of water or

one gallon. They donʼt have any idea of how far a 400 meter run would be. This is

because while they have solved problems on paper for converting liters to gallons, they

havenʼt had enough hands-on experience with the actual physical materials.

There is an amazing teacher in my building who teaches a unit on volume to her

second grade students using water, measuring cups, and empty plastic pint, quart, liter,

2-liter and gallon containers. Itʼs a messy lab with little kids spilling a lot of water on the

carpet as they get direct hands-on experience learning what is larger, a pint, quart or

liter. They learn how many cups fit into a gallon by actually pouring cups of water into a

gallon container until itʼs full. In short, they gain hands-on experience by doing.

Whatʼs really strange is that this is not the norm when it comes to teaching kids in

our schools, itʼs the exception. Most of the time kids donʼt get to learn by doing, they

are expected to learn by listening. They have to sit, be quiet and listen to the teacher

for hours at a time. Pop into any school and walk past the classrooms. In 99% of them

the teacher is doing all the talking. Then walk past an art room where the kids are

making things with their hands. They are the ones talking, sharing ideas, giving each

other feedback, and acting as participants in their own learning instead of just sitting

there as passive observers. This is why kids love coming to an art class and working in

clay. They can take an amorphous mass of clay and through an amazing connection

between their brain and their hands, they can give an idea life. Clay is a magical

material in the eyes of a kid. It can become anything they choose to make it. Itʼs one of

few things in life that kids get to control from start to finish without some adult butting in

and telling them how to do it.

Learning is about taking risks, trying new ideas, and being open to possibilities.

In order for your brain to learn it has to be relaxed, engaged and given room to meander

and make choices. This is how kids approach play and learning. If you observe how

they approach each of these activities youʼll probably have a hard time seeing where

one activity leaves off and the other one begins. In fact the best learning happens when

kids donʼt even know they are getting a lesson. The best learning happens when they

are involved in something fun, engaging and challenging... an activity like making art.

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