Clay Art Project For Kids

I love creating with polymer clay. It is easy to work with. It doesn’t dry out and when cooked, it creates a piece of art that can last for years. I like using polymer clay in my classroom with young kids because what they create is always beautiful and sturdy. This clay art project for kids makes creating simple and gives even young children a way to create and be successful.

In kindergarten and preschool, we are always looking for new and unique ways for kids to practice printing their name. It’s an important skill for young kids to learn and do properly. This clay art project for kids worked perfectly to practice letter formation and putting the letters together to create their name. It also gave each child a name tag for them to take home.

There is a bit of prep involved for this project, but this work helps children be successful. So if you’re looking for a creative way to work on letters and making names with kids, you’re going to love this activity!

Clay Art Project for Kids Materials

You don’t need a lot of materials for this project, but you will need:

• Polymer Clay
• Parchment Paper
• Names (A piece of paper with each child’s name printed on it.)
• Tape
• Practice Page (Free Printable)

The project basically requires children to create their name from polymer clay. They will use a template with their name to help create the letters.

Wax paper will also work for this project, but I find parchment works best. Parchment paper also provides a great surface to put right into the oven to cook and make the clay solid.

For each child’s name, make sure to print it in thick dark ink. If the letters are too thin, children will make their letters too thin and they are more likely to break when baked.

Clay Art Project for Kids Set Up

To start, print the practice page off. You can use this page over and over. I made four copies of the practice page and had children create and make the shapes/letters to practice in small groups.

Next, cover the practice page with parchment paper. The practice page shapes should be visible under the parchment. Tape in place.

If you are doing this clay art project with young children, it is best if you give them a chance to work with and play with the clay before they start their name. It is different from other materials, such as playdough, that kids are familiar with.

Warm up the clay, by rolling it and moving it around on the table and page. Encourage them to then create the letters and shapes on the practice page.

Once they are successful, children can removed their clay and rolled it back into balls and put it away to be used later for the names.

Many of the letters of the alphabet are created easily by rolling the clay to create a ‘worm’. This worm can then be curved and moved on the page to create the letters.

Once children show that they can do the practice page, they are ready to create their name.

Art for Kids

Printing four children’s names onto a single page works out to a great size for young children (each page is 1/4 of the sheet). You can print each name on a computer printer using a thick, dark font. You can also print each name on paper with a thick marker.

Cover the names with parchment paper and encourage children to carefully create each letter of their name. They can choose any color or color combination for their letters. Some children may even get creative and add extra details to their name.

Although polymer clay is strong, make sure that each letter is fairly thick. If it is too thin it can easily break, even after baking.

One way to help ensure each letter is thick enough is by pre cutting the clay. I cut the colors into small squares before children started. This helped by asking children to use one square for each letter.

Once the names are done, there are a few things you can do to keep the letters together after baking. You can push each of the letters together so that they stick, and stay together. This is typically the easiest way, but you may find it doesn’t look right, or doesn’t work for some of the names/letters.

For names that I didn’t ‘squish’ together, I added a roll or line of clay underneath the name. This way all of the letters were connected, and would stay together.

Once the name is done, follow the instructions on your clay to bake it. Typically it is baked for 20-30 minutes on low heat. Make sure an adult does this step.

Kids will enjoy playing with the clay and then seeing their creation after baking.

Clay Art Project Free Printable

Join Play Learn Inspire and download the free practice page featured above. The page is a great way to get kids to practice making shapes and letters before starting their name.

When you subscribe through Grow, the printables will download. You will also unlock all of the other freebies on this site.