Bark is a natural material used to protect plants. It is the outermost layer of a woody plant's stem.
Bark is frequently used in early childhood education learning experiences. Children can touch the rough textures of tree trunks and wonder in awe at the markings on scribbly gums. After bark has fallen from a tree, children can use it as a loose part.
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) supports children playing with bark. Natural materials (4.4) help children learn respect for the environment (2.4). Pieces of bark can be integrated into sensory, art and science activities that involve creativity (4.1) and experimentation (4.2).
Learning experiences
Rub bark with crayons
Bark rubbing is a classic learning activity in early childhood education. Place a piece of paper against the bark of a tree. Rub firmly on the paper with a crayon and notice the pattern of the bark within the drawing. Experiment by rubbing using both the tip and side of the crayon - which way works best?
Take photographs
Go on a nature walk with a camera. Find as many different types of tree bark as you can and take a close-up photo of each one. Later, print out the pictures and examine the variety of colours and patterns. Create a group artwork by pasting the photographs into a large collage.
Search for insects
Insects can hide or bore in the bark of trees. Use a magnifying glass to go on a bug treasure hunt. How many different types of insects can you find? What do you think they are doing in the tree?
Read Scribbly gum 'scribbles': an ancient dialect written in the trees by CSIRO.
Colour the trees
Not all tree trunks are brown. What colours are the trees in your neighbourhood? Read about the colours of a rainbow eucalyptus on Australian Geographic and use this as inspiration for an artwork.
- Talk about the different parts of a tree - roots, trunk, bark, branches, twigs and leaves.
- Provide children with black pens so they can draw their own trees.
- Provide rainbow-coloured paints or fluro markers so they can colour their trees.
Build objects
Bark is a very useful building material. If you are fortunate enough to have a large amount of loose bark to play with, consider what you could build with it.
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples used bark to make canoes, containers and baby cradles. Some also used bark as paper and painted on it. Read about Aboriginal Scar Trees by the Victorian Government.
Many cultures around the world have used bark to build houses (e.g. Miwok and Ojibwe people in America). Encourage your children to build their own houses with bark. They could build a large shelter outside, or if your supply of bark is limited, make tiny shelters for dolls and toy animals.
Discussions
- Are all tree trunks brown?
- What shapes and patterns can be seen in tree bark?
- What textures can you see and feel?
- Do all trees need bark? How does it help the tree? Read What is tree bark? by The University of Melbourne.
- Should we pull bark from a tree? Why not?