Rubbings

Children are delighted by crayons and paper. One simple project that you can teach your child how to do with paper and crayons is rubbings. Once your child knows how to do rubbings, she will happily entertain herself trying different surfaces and different color combinations.

What you need:

Various crayons without the paper wrappers (colored pencils are good, also)

Several pieces of paper

Several surfaces with designs (kitchen and bathroom floors are usually good for this)
**You can also purchase plastic surfaces at any art store for this project.**

What you do:

Lay a piece of paper over the surface. Use the side of the crayon to color the paper while pressing down slightly to rub the surface design into the coloring. Experiment with different colors and different surfaces.

You can use flowers, leaves, sandpaper or any object with an interesting design. Lay the object under the paper and use the side of the crayon to color the paper as stated above.

Gravestones, building signs, and other places with raised lettering can provide new and unique surfaces for your project. Use your imagination.

Let your child practice with every surface in your home and with different levels of pressure applied to the crayon. Then, if you feel particularly motivated, you can use this art project as an introduction to a lesson on textures. If not, you've at least managed to entertain your kids for a while.