Weekend Wonder: Leaf Rubbings
Reminder: access to the natural world, hands-on engagement, and opportunities for concentration are so important for your child.
This art exercise is also an opportunity to model admiration and appreciation for the natural world and your own creative powers.
So, make some leaf rubbings!
Gather your materials:
Go for a walk. Take a basket or a ziplock bag with you.
Gather some leaves and name their trees if you are able
Come home.
Take out some art paper (construction paper with a light texture works well) and a small selection of crayons. Peel crayons so they can be used length-wise, by their sides, instead of by their point.
Put some type of mat down to protect your table (larger piece of paper, newspaper, flexible cutting mat you dedicate to drawing at home).
Model how to make a leaf rubbing:
Place leaf under the drawing paper. Take out a crayon. Demonstrate how to rub the crayon across the surface of the paper.
Show admiration, awe, and delight as the leaf impression emerges.
Invite your child to create their own.
Appreciate the outcomes (not by saying good job - admire the colors, comment on the interesting leaf shapes, recall their collection process, etc).
Repeat.
Move away from one-time experiences - we all build knowledge and skills through repetition!
Enjoy!