When my oldest kid turned 5, he got obsessed with all-things clay and would constantly sculpt different shapes (which were sometimes incoherent)! He gradually got better at it though and when my husband noticed Himanshu’s dedication towards his clay projects, he thought of teaching a few clay crafting tricks and shaping techniques to him!
Himanshu has become a pro now and keeps making these magnificent 3D clay arts that I love putting on display around the house.
If you are bored of conducting the same old activities at home for your kids, then clay crafting and sculpting is a brilliant new idea for passing the time. Mentioned below are some of the finest clay craft designs that my son along with his siblings have ideated! Try them at home with your children for a prolific Sunday evening.
The Ecstatic Caterpillar
If you have a toddler at home, they will have the time of their lives making a caterpillar out of some colourful play dough. All 3 of my kids loved sculpting a caterpillar out of clay since it is pretty simple and the end result really cracked them up for some reason!
Method
- Create tiny balls out of brown and green playdough.
- Stick these clay balls together following an alternative pattern for the colours.
- Make small round balls out of black clay to make the eyes of the caterpillar.
- Use a yellow clay strip and twist it into a curve to give the caterpillar a big smile.
- For its antennae, take two red strips and stick on its head.
- Make a paper leaf out of plain white paper.
- Place the caterpillar on the paper leaf to make it look like its crawling!
- Same colours can be used to make the caterpillar.
Spiderman – Your Friendly Neighbourhood Fridge Magnet
My father-in-law’s ingeniousness played a big role here! He is a devoted Spiderman fanatic, and so it’s only fair to pass that fanaticism on to his grandkids. It was a pretty simple clay crafting idea and the result was so amazing, Spidey went straight up onto my fridge (and all social media channels, thereafter)
Method
- Start with some blue playdough to make the body, arms, and legs.
- Next, take a medium-sized ball of red playdough for the mask.
- Make thin strips out of black clay and place them in a criss-cross fashion all over the red clay mask to make it look like a spider web.
- Cut out triangle shapes from white playdough to make the eyes and place them on the mask.
- Voila, you have a clay Spidey all set to increase the Oomph factor of the house.
- We kept it simple since the project was meant for kids!
The Oh-so-adorable Clay Snail
Besides the caterpillar and butterfly, Himanshu also made a snail out of clay one day and completely took the family by surprise since it was an independent project!
Method
- Take a conch-shaped pasta or a sea sell and let your kid paint it to his heart’s desire. Make it super colourful.
- For the body, roll out a clay that’s shaped like a snake and attach the painted pasta or sea sell to it right at the centre.
- Make the eyes out of black clay (small round balls).
- You can also make a smiley face for the snail out of a twisted clay strip.
The Sleepy Owl
My son made a clay owl for his project at school that became a huge hit! It’s a pretty simple technique and the results are so adorable, they might make you cry!
Method
- Make a clay ball.
- Flatten it into the shape of a circle.
- With a marker or pen cap, make U-shaped indentations on the circle where the owl’s stomach will be.
- Fold both the sides.
- Fold the top and pinch on the sides to make pointy ears.
- Use the top of your pen or marker cap to draw the eyes.
- Make the beak using a popsicle stick or a knife.
Playdough or clay crafting is most suitable for engaging pre-schoolers as they have a very short attention span! Out of the many many clay projects that Himanshu has created so far, these are my absolute favourite.
Do let me know in the comments if you loved these super engaging activities for kids!
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