Leaf Rubbings with Rainbow Crayons

I love activities that involve both indoor and outdoor time.  They are great for when it’s too hot (or too cold) to be outside for very long.

First we upended the crayon box and salvaged all the broken bits.  I removed any labels, and my two year old put her choice of colours into mini patty pan cases.  (You can use regular patty pans but the mini ones work well for mini fingers.)  We put the cases into a mini muffin tray, then into the oven on 180 degrees C.  How long it takes them to melt really depends on the quality and quantity of crayons you are melting, so keep a close eye on them.

While the melted crayons were cooling on the kitchen bench, we ventured outside to collect leaves.  We have a bush commonly found around Brisbane with butterfly shaped leaves.  I encouraged my toddler to find “matching pairs” of leaves, and she enjoyed the challenge of finding leaves of a similar size.  We felt the smooth and rough sides of the leaves, and talked about the veins.  Then we headed back inside with them.

Once cool and hard the crayon-melts were ready.  What a delight to peel off the patty pan cases and reveal the swirly rainbow colours!  We placed pairs of leaves (vein side up) under paper and rubbed over them with the flat side of our rainbow crayons to create butterflies.  These crayons aren’t the best for drawing with, but theyare great for rubbings.  They are perfect for little hands to hold and don’t leave any scribbly marks as you colour over the edge of the leaves, as normal crayons would.  (The image didn’t capture the colours well, but you get the idea!)

The end result was a relatively cost-free but busy afternoon spent exploring plants, recycling crayons, and creating art!

Rainbow crayon-melts