How many of us can confess to having our first potter’s wheel experience at the age of four months? This was Jon’s 3rd and final session with new parent group at the St Thomas Children’s Centre in Birmingham. So much rapid development occurs in those early months. It was a joy to behold the advances and the increased sophistication of the children’s approach.


Washwood Heath Nursery School in Birmingham, has an excellent approach to help the new intake of some 180 children and their parents ease into school life. Creative activities are offered to parents in the school hall, whilst their offspring settle in the adjacent classroom. So far they have been woodworking, felt-making and for the next few weeks, working with Jon making pots on the wheel. The activities are designed to alleviate anxiety with the advantage of parents being never too far away to console the inconsolable!

Jon and the nursery staff were struck by the creative talents of assembled parents, particularly the intricate, decorative skills of some of the participants.

Jon spent another pleasant morning with new parents and their children at the St Thomas Children’s Centre. These exploratory sessions give the children their first clay experience – sampling texture, temperature and squidgyness of the raw material. Take a look at the previous St Thomas Babies entry.

One of our youngest participants grapples with the grey stuff!

Jon was back at the fabulous St Thomas Children’s Centre in Birmingham, working with a new parent group. Judging by the expression we reckon this young potter thoroughly enjoyed making his first pot.

No less than 39 staff from a Birmingham Children’s centre and nursery experienced a whole host of pottery techniques and approaches to working with clay…all within 3hrs! The participants were on a training day and had heard about ‘Jon the Potter’ from an Early years conference a few months ago. Once the work has been fired and glazed it will be delivered to the centre for the participants to keep.