In this video from Module 6: Using Tools, we are going to use elder to make an elder pencil.
You will need to have a tent peg at the ready to make the hole in the soft inner wood (separate lesson in the Using Tools Module) and some charcoal (see our craft module to learn how to make your own charcoal). If we are going for the full pencil, we may want to finish it off with a knife. For early years though, this is more than adequate.
This activity brings together many scientific concepts e.g. changing states of matter, the discovery of carbon and the fire triangle. We can make our own artist-grade charcoal in a playground!