Toddler Nature Learning Activity – Tree Bark Rubbing is a great STEAM activity for toddlers and is one of the most fun outdoor activities for kids.  Nature crafts for kids are fun when camping and exploring outdoors. 

Toddler Nature Learning Activity

Are you headed to the forest with your preschoolers?  Are you going on a family camping trip and want to bring along some outdoor activities for the kids?  Maybe you are going on a Nature Scavenger Hunt…Look no further because bark rubbing was a HUGE hit when we went camping a couple of months ago and made a great STEAM activity and nature craft for the kids to do.

Last time we went on a nature walk we also did leaf rubbing (free printable leaf rubbing book) and made our very own book and that was a great nature craft the kids loved.  So this time we went exploring and decided to do bark rubbing!   

You most likely have everything you need right in your home, so no extra trips to the store or amazon orders before you head to the great outdoors.

STEAM Activity for Toddlers

What you need for Tree Bark Rubbing:

• Paper
• Crayons
• Tape

How do you do the Nature Craft – Tree Bark Rubbing?

1. Tape paper at the height of your toddler/preschooler to a tree. (Really any age has a blast doing this!)
2. Give them crayons to use.
3. Let them color on their paper while coloring on the tree.
4. Bark rubbing can be a lot of fun.

Outdoor Activities for Kids

• If you want to incorporate this for older kids, have them identify trees – use a science lesson within this activity, let them rub the bark from each tree they identify and then label that tree/bark on their papers. 
• When I was searching for nature activities before we went camping the bark rubbing caught my eye from this fabulous list of super simple toddler nature activities.  I’ve added more from this list to our ideas for our next camping trip! 

Nature Crafts for Kids

If you are looking for additional nature activities and crafts for your kids of all ages here is a list of some fun activities we’ve done that are tried and true!

Painting with Nature – STEAM Activity for Preschoolers

Fun Preschool Nature Craft – Leaf People

Preschool Color Nature Scavenger Hunt 

Do you have any favorite camping nature activities you do with your kids?  We’d love to know about them, comment below! 

We are a husband and wife team, pairing our strengths together to teach our preschooler in the most fun and engaging way we possibly can.  The mister is a high school educator at Northlake Christian school in Covington Louisiana and over the Innovation Center, which is all things STEAM.  I am a SAHM that blogs pretty much everything we do in our little paradise, from what we eat, to where we travel to how we teach our little one.  We hope you are inspired to incorporate STEAM into learning with your children.