Who would've thought finger puppets could be made out of clay? Andrea DiPalma did! When the puppets are complete the students will put on a puppet production as a project in the class. DiPalma uses demonstrations as a teaching tool, and she also helps students individually while allowing others to work independently. "[The class] is going really well, the kids are fairly engaged and really inspired."
At the beginning of the course offered at Cottage Grove, DiPalma had her 40 students draw what they wanted to create. Why? To show her students the difference between two and three dimensional art. "[Learning the difference] is important because our world is 3-D, and many of the arts are 2-D. Plus being able to convert 2-D into 3-D can help them with their spacial orientation," said DiPalma. Instead of "spoon-feeding" her students, DiPalma asks questions about what they want to create, and lets them think for themselves.
"I think this class is fun, because with the clay we get to make whatever we want by modeling it, smoothing it out and glazing it," said 9-year-old Chris.
Art projects like these help the students with manual dexterity, because they shape their art work with their hands and tools. "What I like about clay is how it feels in my hands...it feels like I'm massaging them. If my hands are dry, it'll make them moist if I just hold [the clay] in my hand," said 10-year-old Jason.
