Notes and Photos from After School Clubs (part 2)
September 27, 2023
Get a behind-the-scenes peek at what happens during After School Clubs for ES and LS students in these notes from the club leaders:
Clay Club: Students first learned some foundational methods of working with clay - things like scratch and attach, and what hollowing out clay means. Most importantly they explored the “why” and “when” of what we do. Clay Clubbers were able to explore and experiment with these techniques and were allowed creative freedom to sculpt their creative visions practicing these foundational methods. Next, a variety of new tools were introduced and a demonstration was given of how to use them to scratch and attach, flatten out clay evenly, carve into clay, and to add special designs with stamps. The clay ideas folder was shared with students to look through and find inspiration in their new creations.
With a demonstration from Ms. Alexis, students were given the challenge of creating a pumpkin pinch pot. This challenge exercises their understanding of foundational techniques of handbuilding such as scratch and attach, as well as test their problem solving abilities when clay dries and cracks while creating. Then the clubbers created crazy monster pinch pots. Ms. Alexis challenged students to add eyeballs, teeth, tongues, and even horns to their pinch pots using the scratch and attach method. Many unique monster pots were created that had expressions and personality! These creations will be glazed and fired and ready to bring home at the end of the club session.
Crafternoon: Crafters connected with the style of Eric Carle, author and designer best known for the picture book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." After watching a clip of how Eric Carle makes beautiful creations from paper, the students painted their own paper and then tore it into pieces to design their own collages! The following week crafters took on the challenge of making a scene using "snippets" of paper, in all different shapes. After reading "Snippets," a story about paper shapes, students embraced using imperfect pieces of paper to make houses and animals. Those skills came in handy when they learned about stained glass and how beautiful windows are made. They made their own versions using tissue paper and lamination paper. The children were ecstatic about the final product and proclaimed, "This is the best project!"
Mysterious Science: Club members first explored chemical reactions with two different experiments: Fizzing Rainbows and Elephant Toothpaste. They learned that mixing white vinegar (a liquid) and baking soda (a solid) creates a gas which results in a foam. Every scientist practiced safety, collaborated with their team members to use materials wisely, and follow steps. Each team was successful and had a blast seeing the results - a messy, fizzy, overflowing mini-explosion. Next they learned about polymers within plastic and what happens to those polymers when stretched or faced with tension caused by gases or solids. They explored the experiments "unleakable baggie" and "exploding baggie." The children loved using terms like solids, liquids, gases, chemical reactions, and results, and also enjoyed seeing what happens to plastic baggies (polymers) when stressed by a solid or a gas.
A bouncing marbles experiment was a blast! Even though they didn't change the composition of a marble, by changing the surface it was placed on, they could create energy - like inertia! Using two different liquids - oil and water - clubbers created a two-layered mini ocean. They added calcium carbonate tablets into the mixture to create gas, which created bubbles within the "ocean" and caused movement within the mixture.
