The Secret of CharcoalA science, history and art pack for curious children and their grown-ups
You don't have to. If you feel able, a small donation to Action Oak helps make sure the oaks are still standing when the child this pack is for has children of their own.
Long ago, before pencils, before paints, before people had taps or light switches, there lived a quiet charcoal maker. He would go into the woods and gather sticks. He’d make a fire, but not a blazing one. He knew how to let the fire smoulder, to breathe just enough. Inside a small tin, something was changing. The wood was turning dark. Not ash. Not smoke. Something different.
That is the story this pack opens with. Over two sessions you find out what charcoal is and how people have used it, then make your own drawing charcoal in a tin, test it against shop charcoal as a filter, and draw, shade and blend with it. Hardwood twigs make the best drawing charcoal, and you can see the same grain lines in them as in a wooden toy. Six A4 pages to print.
Designed for ages 6 and up, with a grown-up at the heat. The PDF comes to your inbox. Print at home on A4, in colour or black and white.
This is one of seven packs. The other six follow by email, one a week, each with its own story, a page for grown-ups, the science, an experiment that works and a Did You Know? page. You can stop them at any time.
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Seven packs, one a week
Every pack opens with a story, then a page for grown-ups, the science behind it, one experiment that works and a Did You Know? page. A few A4 pages, printed at home in colour or black and white.
This is one of seven. Choose any pack to start with and it comes to your inbox now; the other six follow by email, one a week. You can stop them at any time.
