Glazing Stations for Ceramics

I love clay.  I love glazing clay. I really feel strongly that even the littlest kiddos should be able to make and glaze a ceramic piece EACH school year.
 

I have 7 and 10 (2 schools) color-coded tables - so each table has a corresponding matching color of glaze. Sometimes we get all fancy and I throw in a few crystal glazes instead of a straight gloss color.  The set-up per table is one big placemat, one portion cup of glaze, one nasty paper plate under the glaze cup (it gets reused a bazillion times), and 5 paintbrushes (hopefully, matching that color).

Before we start, we sit as a group for the glaze demonstration and lots and lots of talk about how there are two things that travel - YOU and THE CLAY. There are two things that do NOT travel - the glaze and the paintbrushes.  I say this about 100 times.  Maybe more. ;)  We also talk about what happens if you do mix the brushes, what happens if you use too much glaze, what might happen if you drop your clay.  This info is also projected onto the TV screen / SmartBoard:

I encourage the kids to not sit down, because then there's usually a chair out to trip over. And, I encourage them to set their clay on the placemat while they paint - but that doesn't always happen. Paintbrushes are supposed to be set down on the paper plate when someone is finished with theirs.

I know there's debate on what works best.  We've done quite well with this system.  When we're done, the clay goes in a box lid, students help me collect the supplies, I slap lids on the portion cups, put all the cups in a Rubbermaid bin with a wet sponge to keep them damp, and off we go to wash our hands.

Before you ask... I have 31 classes (almost 800 kids) with 35 minute-long class periods. 4-day cycle. Yep. :)  [UPDATED for the 2021-2022 year - 36 classes, 860 kids, 30 min classes]

No Glue for You! - Glue Trick

Teaching opening and closing glue to kindergarten students... because sometimes you just get tired of saying "Twist it shut!" over and over (and, they probably get tired of hearing it). We scrunch up our necks, bringing our heads to our shoulders for SHUT glue or closed. Then, lift our heads waaaaay up for open (glue cap twisting up). The "No Glue for You!" part is mostly for me, and the parents when they hear it. ;) 

We also hold our glue up in the air when it is closed at the end of class. Then, we tap glues with our neighbor and say "Cheers" and put them into our table buckets. Because it's fun.