Reuniting Kids w/ Nature - Bark Rubbings

MATERIALS:
Paper, crayons or pastels.

TIME FRAME: 
15 - 60 minutes

PROCEDURE:

1. Take a step outside and begin exploring the trees around your home. 
2. One tree at a time, gently place your piece of paper on it’s trunk and rub the side of your crayon or your pastels gently over the paper.
3. Notice that the texture of the bark comes out through the variety of shades on the paper?
4. Try to fill as much of the paper with your single bark   rubbing without getting any crayon or pastels on the actual tree.
5. Once you’ve finished with your first bark rubbing, move on to the next tree and repeat the above process.
6. Keep going until you either get tired or run out of paper.

REFLECTION: 
How many trees did you get a bark rubbing from?  What are the similarities between the rubbings?  How are they different?  Did you get rubbings from different kinds of trees?  What kinds?

CONNECTIONS: 

A tree’s bark is like our skin, it helps to protect the tree from any animals, people or weather that might harm it.

TIDBITS: 

Did you know that tree bark has been used historically for the creation of clothing and paper-like materials?  The bark of some trees has also been used for medicinal treatments!

TIPS & IMAGININGS:

• This would be a great project to use one side paper that has already been written or printed on!  Ask around to see who has some paper to give you instead of throwing away!
• Imagine you are tiny little bug living inside of the bark on a tree.  What might the world look like from your tiny perspective?

This activity is part of a series of low cost, hands on activities that can be used by anyone who has a passion for nature and who believes that a child's time spent in nature is not only important, but necessary.  Each activity was either created by me or gathered from a variety of sources.  You can find the complete list of all of the activities on my Nature Activities tab.

xoxo,

M