Hogboon* Houses and Griffins

 

                What should I do with the children all summer? I prayed this last spring when all our summer plans had been cancelled, the library was closed, the schools were closed, and even church was closed. I was facing 3 months of unscheduled time with my 3 children- ages 3, 5, and 7. No one could help me and nothing I could do would open the world again.
                As I prayed, I got a glimmer of an idea. Later that day, I took out a huge sheet of paper and had a brainstorming session with the children. What creative, non-screen, projects did we want to work on this summer? The list soon filled up with all the things we don’t usually have time for: Creative Writing, Drawing, Sewing, Hikes to the Creek, Unicorn Tea Parties, and Pottery made the list among other things.

                I could not control the world, but I could look around and see what resources we had in our own home, and I happen to have a large electric kiln and a foot-powered pottery wheel from my years of studying pottery during college. I ordered 25 pounds of clay from Walmart.com and the children and I began creating things out of clay. I quickly learned that my children may be a little too young for too much clay-adventuring, but as long as I remembered that the product was not as important as the experience, I managed to keep myself together and not get too frustrated.
                I wanted some new little houses for my fairy garden and found a way to create several sturdy clay and glaze Hogboon houses. Bennett made a Griffin (it exploded in the final firing, but we glued it back together), Juanita made a tiny couch, and even Rosalinda made a bowl (with some help.)

                The children had to exercise their patience because it took several weeks to use up all the clay and let it dry enough to fire safely. Then they had to wait for the first firing to cool so we could glaze the pieces, and then we had to wait for the second firing. It took about a month and a half for all our creations to be complete, and sadly, some of them exploded.

    But for all that, the children still ask me, “When will we do pottery again?”

    I’m not sure. Between the brief period where they got to actually go to school, and this recent return to Distance Learning, we’re pretty swamped again. But I smile when I see our pieces displayed proudly in the china cabinet. I couldn’t take my children on any adventures this summer- but we made plenty of our own.

*If you are wondering what a "hogboon" is, you can learn about them here, at Orkneyjar, my favorite Orkney folklore website. I draw heavily on this folklore for my ongoing children's novel, The Selkie Prince.