Writing with sharpened sticks is a fun way to build literacy skills and nature appreciation in children.
Have you ever used a sharpener to sharpen sticks? The idea popped into my head the other day, and I ran out into our garden to try it with a stick that was of similar thickness to a pencil.
It sharpened remarkably well and I thought sharp sticks would make a fun addition to our nature craft play time.
We’ve used sticks and paint in a previous activity before. We made beautiful art by in colouring in animal silhouettes using sticks and we’ve used the shavings created since, in wood shaving crafts.
This time though, I thought I’d let the girls decide how they would like to use the sharpened sticks. They wrote letters to fairies, of course!
What you’ll need for this activity
- Sticks (similar thickness to a pencil)
- Sharpener
- Paint
- Paper
Writing with Sharpened sticks
- We sharpened the sticks with a sharpener. This was a fun way to teach my four year olds how to sharpen pencils without wasting an actual pencil. They really enjoyed sharpening sticks.
- Set out some paint, paper and the sharpened sticks on the table.
- Let your children go for it.
Write a letter to a fairy using the sharp stick
My eldest said she felt really earthy with the sharp stick in her hand and decided to write a letter to a forest fairy. She spent time gently dipping her stick into the paint before she wrote each letter. Writing with a stick (to a forest fairy) was pretty enchanting already but each letter turned out quite otherworldly too.
I couldn’t help myself and wrote a letter to the forest fairy too.
My youngest (by 9 mins) Â kept watching us and decided that using the stick for writing was a brilliant idea and she joined in on the fun too.
Miss E wasn’t interested in writing a letter, instead she experimented with the stick by making dots, painting lines and then trying to place big blobs of paint on the paper. She had a glorious time.
If you’ve never sharpened a stick before and used it in your painting time, try it. Â We thought it was such a fun writing activity. Enjoyable and educational too!
Great idea! I’m going to try this on the weekend!