Fourth Grade Boys Create Giving Bowls in Pottery Class

As I walked into the church ready to start teaching a new 8 week class of pottery to fourth graders I was passed by what seemed like a million high energy kids following a flag with a 4 on top. Could it be? Could that be my new group. I continued down the hall way pulling my clay. clay paddles, texture makers and such on my squeaky old luggage roller. "Was that the fourth graders going by?"I asked as I pulled my heavy wheeled supplies to the edge of the hall waiting for my turn to use the room. "Sure is!" replied the other teachers. And then two helpful ladies corralled the forth grade boys and lead them into the room like while bulls at a rodeo. They were gobbling their snacks and pushing a bit and bouncing off the walls. "This is gonna be a fun challenge." I thought and dug out my singing bowl from Tibet and began to play it. Their eyes came my direction and they became mesmerized by the sound. "What is this?" I asked them. No one knew exactly what it was. "Who can still hear it ringing?" I asked as the room got more and more quiet.

And this is how it happened.
Bowls. It is all about bowls. This is a singing bowl used by Tibetan monks. Feel the vibration. Can you feel it? Who can hear it the longest? You can try this later. Make the bowl sing. Bowls are like people in so many ways. We let others give us things for our bowls of life and we give to others to fill there bowls as well. Bowls have lips, bellies and feet. We will make bowls as different as we all are and we will have bowls to keep, bowls to share and more bowls. Bowls for everything. We will make animal bowls and all kinds of shapes as well. Bowls should be as different as every one is in room.

We had a blast. I told them stories as we worked and they told me about their life experiences as well. It is going to be a fun class. Who knew hanging out with fourth grade high energy boys could be so much fun?

Watch us grow. Watch us grow artistically. I am glad to share 40 years of knowledge with them and they are asking me for more. One boy said, "Hey this is fun. Not boring. I get so bored. I want to do this! I'm coming every week!" And I said, "Good me too. I don't want to do boring stuff either. This is fun. I try and not have a boring life or do boring things. We are going to learn a lot together."