Getting Dirty

  A few months ago we saw a craft in the Family Fun magazine on creating little nests. They were made out of model magic dough by crayola and then sticking sticks inside the dough to create the look of a nest.  It seemed like a fun easy project.  We gathered our sticks from outside, broke them in pieces and got to work.

I soon found out that I had accidently gotten the wrong clay.  This clay acted and felt like actual potter’s clay but just air dried.  It took me back to my days of ceramics and throwing on the wheel. I love the feel of real earthen clay, the way it dries on your hands, sticks in your nails and is just plain messy. It’s been years since I’ve had a chance to play with the stuff and it felt so good.  We had to improvise our plans a bit but we turned out successful. There is one way to keep a two year old toddler busy for hours, who inherited his father’s OCD when it comes to getting things on him.  Let the clay dry and he’ll sit there for hours trying to peel it all off his hands.

When they finished they were all excited to find things to fill up those nests. I loved how their creative minds worked…. going back to nature. 

 

 

 

Savannah even found a few other hidden treasures to stick in hers. Being in the city sometimes I wish my kids had more access to nature. The chance to get dirty, touch and feel the things God created for their enjoyment. This project ended up being one of those.  Instead of factory created fake clay, we had the chance to work with clay that was very similar if not the same thing as the clay straight from the ground. Nature’s little treasures of textures, smells and things to see.