How Much Clay Should You Order?

When it came to ordering supplies in my first year of teaching, the quantity was the hardest part to gauge. When planning your order, you have to know how many clay projects your students will get to make, the approximate size of the projects, how many students you have, what kind of storage space you have, etc. There are a lot of questions to answer!
In my school district, all the elementary students get to do one clay project a year. My general rule of thumb is to plan for about a 1/2 pound of clay per student. I have 24 primary classes so I order 12 25 lb boxes of clay, and I always have leftover clay. I've tried giving students bigger pieces of clay to start with but most of the time they don't use al of it. Some students LOVE to make things big. Most of my primary kids get overwhelmed with too much clay- too much meaning more than is comfortable for them to hold in their little hands. I usually divide my 25 lb boxes of clay into about 1/2 pound pieces for the students to use. I have another bag that holds any leftover clay, which the students put into a ball. If a student needs just a bit more to finish a project, they can use some of the leftovers.
So if it's your first time planning a supply order, I would think about the answers to all the questions I posted above, and if that doesn't lead you to a clear answer, try out 1/2 lb per student. Good luck!