Over the course of the semester the class has been

CERAMICS doing three different projects to encourage deeper

learning of the topic. This week were beginning the

SHOP ceramics project. The children were learning how to

throw on a pottery wheel and make other art with
clay. I saw Ivy over at the pottery wheel which is no
surprise as she loves doing anything with art. She was
in the first of three chairs surrounding the art teacher
on the other side of the table. She sat down and since
she had already once done this, she knew the steps. I
was seeing that she was able to throw the clay down
on the middle of the wheel to get it to stick and start
the process of making something. I walked over to
her and asked what she planned on making and how
she was going to do it. She responded with, “I am
going to make a jewelry bowl, and I am going to take
both hands and push on the clay to make it the shape
I want.” I watched as she was able to start forming
the bowl, she would occasionally mess up and must
add water or add some clay to fix her mistake. She
continued to try to make the bowl just like she
wanted it to be asking question to the art teacher
like, “Should I add more water…am I doing it right…
this is really fun!” After she got the bowl how she
liked it the art teacher gave her the wire with to
handles on either end to cut the bottom of the clay
bowl off the wheel. Ivy then was able to carefully with
two hands take it over to the tray for clay pieces to be
fired. As she was walking a couple feet, she looked
both ways before going to the tray to make sure no
one was going to run into her.
 Narrative: Documentation

Documentation typically included samples of the children’s work, photographs of the

children engaged in the project work, and transcripts of the conversation. Documentation can be

used to continuously plan based on evidence in the documentation as the work progresses.

(Wakeham, Gulsvig, 2022) Documentation is an assessment tool that aids in evaluating

children’s learning. Documentation happens in the moment even when the child doesn’t know

they are being assessed and it shows truly what the child capable of doing and learning. It is used

to help show record of specific skills, concepts, and progress the child makes.

Record

Ivy is someone has a talented hand in being creative and wanting to try out new things

she can do with her own hands. She also loves learning, so I had noticed Ivy has been to the

wheel once a few classes back and made a smaller bowl and was wondering if she has improved

as she has been working I other ways with clay over those few class periods. It was significant

the progress she made with working with clay as she always had a product after each class

period, and it was easy to see she was improving with her fine motor skills and really wanting to

improve by asking questions to gain knowledge.

Development

Ivy is hands on and how she learns is by watching and asking questions. To see Ivy’s

development, ask her to perform or recount the instructions, she likes to show what she knows.

Going along with this she is a visual learner and, in the future, having been aware she will

learner better with something to grab and explore. Ivy always being in art center and being

passionate about learning new creative ways to express herself shows she has a big imagination

and loves exploring something new. She is also cautious and aware of her surroundings enough
to learn from her mistakes. Ivy loves to improve and do better each time she tries, this shows her

determination to build on and gain knowledge in her own learning.

 Sources

Wakeham, M., & Gulsvig, C. (2022, February 16). What is documentation and why is it

important? Child Development Laboratory School. Retrieved March 22, 2023, from

https://lab-school.umn.edu/2022/02/16/what-is-documentation-and-why-is-it-important/

#:~:text=Documentation%20typically%20includes%20samples%20of,comments%20and

%20transcripts%20of%20conversations.