Here are some answers to all your clay questions.
What’s the name of the book?
We are using Fun with Modeling Clay by Barbara Reid. Better books might exist. This just happened to cost me about a dime at a book sale, so this is the book we are using!
What type of clay was Elijah using?
Sculpey III. I found that 14 oz. pack (Crafter’s Variety) at Wal-mart for around $10.
What were his first steps in using the clay?
The book has a page of tips (page 4) and then a page about tools (page 5). I think he read those one day for a workbox. For another day, I had him practice making the basic shapes on page 6 (ball, egg, pancake, and drop). Then…on another day, I had him practice making the basic shapes on page 7 (cone, snake, sausage, cylinder, box, ribbon). Finally…on another day, he was to choose a creature from pages 8-9 to make (options are snake, spider, and ladybug). He chose snake and went through the four steps to make his.
More about the book
The book is split in three main sections: animals, people, pictures. The instructions for most of the projects aren’t too hard if you can make those basic shapes. I would have a child practice the basic shapes until they are easy. The pictures section is pretty elaborate! It has a part with 3-D scenes, too. Elijah already announced that he wants to illustrate his next story with clay. It will probably take a year to do it, but I told him that would be fine.
Where to buy Sculpey III?
I am still figuring out where to get the best bang for my buck. I was able to use a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby yesterday making a 20 oz. package $9.59 (cheaper than Wal-mart and more clay!). My Hobby Lobby store only carries three options in the Sculpey III, though. Rainbow Resource definitely has a better variety, and the prices are probably better than anywhere (unless you have a coupon).
I hope that helps! Have fun with your little sculptors!
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