I love easy art projects. Crayon rubbings are one of those obvious, easy art ideas that I often forget about. Crayon rubbing makes a nice lesson for texture and shape too.
I like to use the broken crayons for this, but whole ones work too. Have the kids remove the paper. Small children love to tear off the crayon paper. Then show the child how to lightly rub the paper with the side of the crayon. Put torn paper, cut out shapes of paper, even those die cuts from scrap-booking under the top paper. Notice the outlines of the shapes as you rub the crayon over the paper.
Other fun things to put under the paper are paper clips, coins, broken jewelry chains, lace, or cardboard. Anything flat will either make an outline, or a textured design. I like that the kids can be as random with this as they want, and just concentrate on color and texture and shapes. Or they can arrange a penny surrounded by paper clips to be a flower, or cut out special shapes to make holiday designs.
You can also take your paper around the house and outside and see what textures you can find. The kids can lay their papers down and rub over sidewalks, linoleum or tile, rocks, bricks, paneling. Grass and leaves make interesting rubbings too. And obviously, if your child is doing this on a wall or floor you want to make sure they stay on the paper!
Another fun slant on this project is to draw a design with white glue or 3-d craft paint. Again, it can be random lines and designs, or a realistic picture, or even your child’s name. Once the glue or paint is dry, lay another paper over the top and do the crayon rubbing. Much to the child’s amazement, the dried glue design will show through.
Crayon rubbing is easy, cheap, and I love that it lets children explore and discover the shapes and textures in their world.
More Fun With Crayons: