Today’s order of business: make something with clay, in a way you’ve never used clay before.

The children contributed ideas, and Isaac had a winner. So I enlisted his help. Together, we rolled out some Play-Doh (two colors, so we covered enough ground) on a clear plastic mat. Then he “carved” a word from the sheet of clay. After that, we experimented with different sources of light, and surfaces on which to project his letters. The winning combo: the flashlight app from his iPhone, projected onto the dining room wall.

The mat is a textured piece of plastic we use as a cutting surface in the kitchen, so it looks almost like corduroy. I like it!

(Oh, and I supervised and took the photographs.)