Learning Across the ELC

Learning in the ELC

Encounters with Clay – Banksia Blue Room

The Banksia Blue children have explored the medium of clay to express their ideas and theories during this term. The clay provocations invited the children into a dialogue with the land and to explore their connection to place. As the children engaged in tactile experiences of pressing, moulding and transforming this earthy material, they developed a deeper connection to place through their senses, memories and imagination. 

Since clay offers the possibility to explore multiple forms and dialogues, we intentionally curated opportunities for the children to investigate this fascinating material. A large block of stoneware clay, with a small amount of water, was placed on the table without any clay tools for the children to investigate. The children were invited to engage deeply with the clay, noticing its texture, temperature, weight and malleability as they encountered and explored the material (Reggio Children, 2026). 

Through these encounters, the children began to express their understanding of belonging, relationships and their theories:

Winter: “It feels like a rock. Can I press? I'm squishing it. I want to make my face. It feels like clay.”

Oscar: “Wow! It's too heavy, Ms De Alwis.”

Lucy: “That’s brown. I'm doing me. That's Charlotte.”

Ethan: “I touch it. It’s cold.” 

Phoebe: “It's cold.”

Imogen: “Stick. That’s an octopus.”  

The Banksia Blue Team

Exploring Clay – Wattle Room

This week, Wattle children extended their ongoing clay inquiry through visits to the Banksia Clay Atelier spaces. The children eagerly explored the thoughtfully arranged provocations, experimenting with a variety of natural loose parts, materials and tools.

These visits offered rich opportunities to build on their existing understandings of clay while inspiring curiosity, experimentation and new possibilities for creative expression.

Alfie: “ It’s very hard, hard like a rock.”

Sophia: “ It’s a huge clay.”

The Wattle Team