We were going to make crayon rubbings with the Toddler Art Group yesterday. We assembled all sorts of textured stuff to put under the paper, including string (inspired by My Kids Art), leaves, Sculpey nature prints, sandpaper, mesh screens, a xylophone, etc. Sounds fun, right? Wrong. I’ve never seen the kids leave the art table so quickly. It was the biggest bomb we’ve had in a long time.
Crayons are oh, so unsexy as an art material. I think that was part of it. But also, they didn’t really get the hang of rubbing with the side of the crayon all over the item. Maybe they were just a little too young for this activity.
So who made these leaf rubbings? Me! I love these! And I think that older kids would as well. A nice spring nature activity (in my opinion, not Maia’s)–perhaps even an idea for a nature journal…
Beth said
I’ve had better luck at this age going on “exploration trips” with the crayons outside. It gives it more appeal to just plop down on concrete and rub the texture (with paper, of course), or to pick a small leave and see the immediate results. Older kids do fine with the disassociation (it was always a big first grade hit) but this age seems to love the immediacy and adventure of a hunt.
Lori said
like beth, we’ve also taken our rubbing materials outside – to rub sidewalks, fences, anything we could find! (of course, you do end up with crayon on things .. oops!)
we had a set of hard plastic pattern squares we bought from a school supply place online somewhere – each flat square had a different pattern on each side, several in total: lines, dots, circles, etc. the kids loved working with those – they could really scrub hard at them.
mudmama said
Another hit with toddlers and preschoolers is a rubbing collection or wall – take a styrofoam packing form (those shaped things that can’t be recycled) and give each child one or attach a big one it to the wall then let the kids attach all sorts of things to it, then do rubbings from it It combines a lot of activities and learning modalities and even if they aren’t into or ready for the delicacy of the rubbings they’ll enjoy poking sticks and wire and mesh and pennies etc into the styrofoam…or maybe just pulling apart styrofoam – all sorts of textures!
I love the idea of combining it with a treasure hunt walk!
Kat said
I have always found that little ones can manipulate chalk better… it glides smoother without requiring too much pressure at all. Sidewalk chalk is nice and chubby for little hands and if you “pre-rub” a side flat than it’s easier for them to rub across things…
Those leaves look wonderful though! What a great way to document nature. Also- I’m really wanting to try out the sculptey pressings. They look like such wonderful gifts for my kids to give the special people in their lives.
OTJenH said
I think with crayons, and rubbings especially, hand strength really comes into play. I always recommend peeling crayons and breaking them into small pieces for everyday coloring and drawing activities to help children develop that all-important three-fingered “tripod” grasp. But rubbings are the one time when the big, chunky crayons (or, even better, the rectangular-shaped crayons) can help kids really get a good grip. You have to apply a lot of resistance on the crayon to get a good impression. This is big work for little hands! Maybe the bigger, outdoor textures (like sidewalks, tree bark, fences, etc.) are more popular with little kids because they are using the bigger muscles of their arm to make larger movements which help them get the job done. Hmmm…
The Artful Parent said
Thank you, everyone, for your ideas! Maybe next time we’ll just do an exploration walk outdoors with crayon and paper in hand…
Gwyn said
I was just about to add that my kids find much better things to do outside than draw – I just think this is for older kids!
Teaworthy said
I heart heart heart your blog! Thanks for so many creative ideas and fabulous links!
Leaf Rubbings « Three Sneaky Bugs said
[...] One by Jean at the Artful Parent caught my eye and reminded me that I’ve been wanting to do leaf rubbings with Seth for quite some time. Had I actually read her post I might have held off. But as it was I [...]