There are many different types of activities that parents and teachers love to give children to keep them busy and creative. One of them is clay art the other is sewing projects for kids. When giving children clay to play with there are a number of options and it can be quite confusing for the consumer whether parent or teacher, to decide which of the clays are best for their kids. The first thing to do before making that decision you first have to know where they are going to be playing with the clay and what are the needs of the adult giving the children the clay play and the needs of the kids themselves.

The main kinds of clay are either regular old fashioned modeling clay like play-doh or similar types in other brands. Then there are the air dry clays, the oil based clays and the ones that get baked or fired in a kiln. If you are a parent that wants their child to just have some quite time themselves while you prepare dinner or need them to keep busy, regular crayola modeling clay will fit the bill. It is not as piecey or as crumbly as the old time play doh is but, has a very similar consistency. This way the kids can have a really good time with it without it getting on the carpets on in their hair.

If you are in a classroom situation or are even an art teacher then you will have different criteria for which clay you want to give the kids to use. The water based air drying clays are great for this purpose. They are much more dense then the the crayola modeling clay and the kids can actually make small pots and figures out of this clay. If they use the gray self hardening clay then it will air harden and they can paint it when dry. If they use the porcelain clay then it can be worked on the same way as the gray clay, but it needs to be fired in a kiln. Whichever way you cut it, kids love playing with any kind of clay and it is a very beneficial activity for them.