At a Kidcreate Studio - Alexandria pottery summer camp near you, we let kids get their hands a little dirty with clay. Working with clay offers many benefits for children, including improving their fine motor skills. Being able to manipulate the clay with their hands helps develop the muscles in their arms, wrists, and fingers. For our younger students, these same movements will help them get better at buttoning their pants, writing their name, and tying their shoes.

Creating art with clay also improves a child’s hand-eye coordination, which helps with physical activities and even penmanship in school.

Working with the medium of clay has a calming effect on almost anyone who uses it. If you survey a pottery class, you might notice how quiet it is. That is because the children are engaging with the clay, and their creative mind has taken over. Clay can entertain a child for hours, even those who would be considered high energy. Pottery can even feel therapeutic for a child; the teachers at Kidcreate Studio - Alexandria can help the children channel their feelings into clay and work through their big emotions.

Clay is easy for little fingers to handle and does not create a mess like runny paint or sticky glue. Children working with clay can quickly learn that if they make a mistake or are not happy with their project, they can easily squish their clay back into a ball and start over.

This practice teaches a valuable lesson about problem-solving and helps their self-esteem grow.

You can create almost anything with clay, and the leaders at Kidcreate Studio - Alexandria teach the kids they can do anything they can imagine. Working with clay empowers them to mold and shape whatever they want. At Kidcreate Studio - Alexandria we encourage children to fully express themselves through art, which creates a connection to themself and others.