Evergreen Cob - Day 2

Day two of our Mud Fest was a beautiful sunny day, not too hot.. real nice. We started off the morning with a Third Grade class... my daughter Rebecca's class. They got an introduction from Tony, removed their shoes, rolled up long pants to the knees and were grouped into teams and sent off to a tarp to await further instruction.
Sand and clay were dumped on each tarp and the kids got to work. I had the pleasure of working with a group of girls that included Rebecca... they were SO funny.. all squeamish and giggly and shrieky! But after getting their feet used to the new sensations.. they joined hands and made up a mud dance.. circling left and right while jumping up and down.. I wish I had had my camera handy to capture that moment! We also worked with the two 5th Grade classes that day.

The older kids got to get in the tub of clay and mix it up with water and feet..
No hesitation here! Lots of squeals though! When the sand and clay were mixed it was time to add straw.. "sprinkle the cheese on the pizza"..Says Tony... now make it all dirty! The Cob is flipped in tarp several times to bring the bottom up to the top and facilitate a more through mix.
Now that our cob is mixed and ready, Tony demonstrates how to form a cob ball to carry to the bench.
Everyone joins in the fun of adding cob to the bench structure.. Still hard to tell how it will really look when it is all finished.. I keep telling the kids it is a "work in progress"!


At the end of Day 2... after 5 classes have added their touch... here is what the bench looks like.

Hummm... wonder how it will be in the end! Stay tuned...