It's intensely satisfying to make things with my hands: pie dough, needle point, pencil drawing, painting a wall or a canvas, it makes no difference to me. Most of my students, too, enjoy doing things with their hands: things with yarn like finger knitting, cat's cradle, friendship bracelets. Some kids love to sit at their desk flipping those little skate boards, finger decks, drives me crazy. I toss them in my bottom drawer and give them back after school, so then they bend their id's into finger decks and flip those - they don't make as much noise, so I ignore it. Toys are forgotten anyway once the fun art materials come out. Most kids love playing in clay, and mention finger painting and the class goes nuts.
There's always a kid or two who can't stand getting their hands dirty. Sometimes its a sensory overload for them, a special need they deal with, sometimes they're just very tidy kids. Surgical gloves come in handy.....except some kid always fills them up at the sink...you just have to laugh and keep a mop at hand.
Contemplating impending retirement, I revisit works of art created by so many students over the years. What a complete joy and privilege to nurture and witness creativity unfolding. Even after all these years, I wonder at the creative process. It is a dance, the partners, freedom and restriction, taking turns leading the steps, sometimes in sync, sometimes out of step completely. Art projects, in a classroom environment, are like problem sets for critical thinking. The teacher's role is to pose a question, provide some tools and skills, then step back and let it all happen. MUCH easier said than done, to be sure! My favorite admonishment to students, given after project instructions and usually with a wink: "Rules (in the art room) are meant to be broken." 
Over the years, I have discovered that the richest creative moments and art experiences both in the classroom and in my own studio occur when rules are broken either accidentally or intentionally. Nurturing the capacity for students to create, follow and BREAK their own rules is true teaching, far more an art than a science.
