Books We Are Using This Year
  • The Story of the World: Ancient Times (Vol. 1)
    The Story of the World: Ancient Times (Vol. 1)
    by Jeff West,S. Wise Bauer,Jeff (ILT) West, Susan Wise Bauer
  • Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2
    Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding: A Science Curriculum for K-2
    by Bernard J Nebel PhD
  • Math-U-See Epsilon Student Kit (Complete Kit)
    Math-U-See Epsilon Student Kit (Complete Kit)
    by Steven P. Demme
  • First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Level 4 Instructor Guide (First Language Lessons) By Jessie Wise, Sara Buffington
    First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: Level 4 Instructor Guide (First Language Lessons) By Jessie Wise, Sara Buffington
    by -Author-
  • SPELLING WORKOUT LEVEL E PUPIL EDITION
    SPELLING WORKOUT LEVEL E PUPIL EDITION
    by MODERN CURRICULUM PRESS
  • Drawing With Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too
    Drawing With Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too
    by Mona Brookes
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« Weekly book shelf, 5/21 | Main | Journal entry—orioles »
Saturday
May212011

Ancient Rome—clay face pots

Okay, ours weren't clay. When Calvin brought me the book that he'd been reading about ancient Rome and said that he wanted to make "these face pots" all we had in the house was playdough, both homemade and store bought, so that's what we used. It's a matter of making it up as we go along, isn't it?

Clay face pots have been found mostly in British Roman ruins and are believed to have had a religious purpose. Many have been found with ashes in them. That's about all I can tell you about them right now, except that Calvin found them interesting and wanted to give them a try.

Obviously play dough was not the best choice for this, and we'll probably give this another try in the future with real honest-to-goodness clay, but the upside to starting with play dough was getting to do it over, and over, and over again by squishing and rebuilding, squishing and rebuilding.

The big pot was made with mostly homemade play dough, which wasn't as firm and didn't keep its shape as well, plus it was the first. The smaller, more colorful pot was the last pot made, after much practice, and is one we made together. I rolled all the blue and I made the mouth while Calvin assembled and did all the other rolling and mashing and shaping.

I think they were both adorable, and now they're both blobs of dough again waiting to be remade or made into something else.

Reader Comments (1)

We've made coiled things too, I love that!
I also love that they're something else, now. :)
May 22, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterStephanie

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