When young children are given clay, they are instinctively motivated to explore its responsive sensory qualities. As they poke it, squeeze it, and pound it, the clay responds. For a preschooler, this empowers them to continue experimenting!

As they experiment, they recognize that their actions have consequences. Their curiosity continues to empower their learning experience, as they construct and reconstruct a variety of shapes and forms. Before we began this activity, we discussed the story of the Lion King and the Lion Guard.

With pictures and two short stories, your little one was introduced (or perhaps reintroduced) to the regal home of Simba and Mufasa, called Pride Rock. They were then encouraged to use clay and rocks to create their own version of Pride Rock! By doing this, they applied their understanding of a concept, and continued to develop their hand eye coordination and the small muscles in their hands.