Clay Nativity Scene (Slab Roller)

Well, when 1965. Mr. O and the 2 kids went on a vacation a year ago, they brought me back this way cool nativity scene made out of clay. I looked at it and thought….hum…my 4th graders need to try to make these. So, we did. It was a blast. I hope you can see by the photos that the people look kinda like skinny weeble-wobbles. (Do you remember those???) No facial features but bright colors for clothes and background. I had never attempted to do these before and it was quite an easy feat. I had the room set up where we would roll out the clay slab with the slab roller. Then the kids would trace around a plastic bowl and pull up the clay circle. Once the clay circle was at the child’s work station then they would pinch the 2 sides together creating the dome. This was a bit tricky, but once the “manger” itself was secure the students added Mary, Joseph & Jesus. A few kids went all out and added lots of other details. Most of the manger scenes had a star in the front center of the

back.

If you are looking for a quick and easy one day class clay project- this is it! We let them dry on the Brent-Ware’s Cart and fired in the kiln. After the bisque firing we pulled them out and glazed them. I use Stroke-N-Coat glaze! Love the stuff! The colors really are nice.

x0x, 1969