Crayon Rubbing Hunt
What you need
- sheets of thin paper
- chunky crayons with the paper wrapper peeled off
How to do it
- Show your child how to lay the paper on something bumpy, like a doormat, and rub the long side of a crayon across it.
- Hunt round the house and garden for more bumpy things: a brick, the bottom of a shoe, a basket, a big leaf, a tree trunk.
- Do a rubbing of each one on the same sheet and talk about the patterns that appear.
- Later, look at the sheet together and see if they can remember what made each pattern.
Why it matters
A pattern appears out of nowhere as they rub, and the crayon held on its side needs a firm, flat grip that's different from drawing.
What they're learning
- Crayon on its side
- Rubbing flat and firm across the paper.
- Patterns in things
- Bumps and lines that show up on paper.
- Guess what made it
- Matching a rubbing to the thing underneath.
What to look for
Notice them running a hand over something to feel if it's bumpy enough.
A tip
Tape the paper down on smooth things so it doesn't slide, and press harder than you'd expect.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: rub one big bumpy thing, like a doormat, in lots of colours
Harder: do a secret rubbing and ask you to guess what made it, then swap
