Elder trees are native to England. You find them in many gardens and hedgerows. The wildlife love this tree and so do us humans. We use the flowers and berries to make Elderflower cordial.

The wood is quite corky so it's nice and soft to make things like pencils! 

We have a few of these trees in the school garden. 

The children used palm drills and willow charcoal to make the pencils. Most were very successful.  However a lot of patience is needed because the holes drilled into the wood need to be just the right size and the willow charcoal is quite fragile and can easily break. So being delicate is key.

After we made our pencils, we made a lovely warm fire to toast our marshmallows for smores. It was a pretty chilly day, so the fire was very welcome

My video today is a little tutorial of how to make an Elder pencil. You could give it a go at home! 

If you do, please send me a picture, I'd love to see.

Have a lovely weekend!!