Programs

Creative studio

A shared studio where children work with clay, paint and things picked up off the ground, with no template to copy.

Every room books the studio through the week. The children in the second film are pressing gum leaves into clay, which is the whole idea: real materials, an open ended job, and no example on the wall to copy. Clay, paint, charcoal, natural loose parts and a light table. Work gets photographed and the reasoning gets written down, so the thing that comes home in the bag is the second most interesting part of it. Talei plans the studio rotation as educational leader.

What is included

Clay, paint, charcoal and natural loose parts supplied
Open ended work with no template to copy
Process photographed and documented, not just the finished piece
Rotation across all four rooms each week

A child pressing a gum leaf into a flat disc of clay on the studio table

A leaf pressed into a disc of clay, drying on the studio table beside river pebbles

At a glance

Included in the daily fee

One to two sessions a room each week

Included in the daily fee. There is no materials, incursion or resource levy at Sunbird.

See the studio on a tour

How it works

The process, in order.

Room books its studio session for the week
Materials set out for the age group
Children work at their own pace with an educator alongside
Work and reasoning documented into the portfolio
Pieces dried, fired where relevant and sent home

Questions about this room

What families ask about creative studio

Will my child come home covered in paint?

Sometimes. We use smocks and the paint is washable, but clay and charcoal get on clothes. Send older clothes on your child's studio day and keep the spare set in the bag.

Why does nothing look like the example?

Because there is no example. If twenty pieces come out identical, an adult made the decisions. We would rather the work be uneven and the child be the one who chose.