http://asoftplace.net/2010/03/diy-day-with-sodderbug-photo-charms/Have you melted down crayons with your kids? There are a million ways to do it, it's easy and it's all over the place. Try it. You and your kids will love it. Here's how I make them with my kids. The way that I make them has an art teacher twist.
Separate broken, worn down crayons into three categories (warm colors, cool colors, neutrals) - this in and of itself is a great learning opportunity for preschoolers. Learning to differentiate warm, cool, and neutral colors is a great sorting activity. Try the color sorting with markers and colored pencils too - it can be a fun clean-up activity.
Peel papers from crayons - I used my utility knife and made a cut on each crayon and then my kiddos peeled the paper off - this was a very quiet and concentrated activity. I might have to have them peel crayons more often. The only downfall is that my two year old thinks that all crayons need to be peeled now.
Break the crayons into pieces, keeping them in the three piles - warm (reds, oranges, yellows), cool (greens, blues, violets), and neutral (browns, black and greys and whites) colors.
Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick vegetable spray and put the crayons in the muffin cups.
Place the muffin tin in a 275 degree oven for 7 or 8 minutes. Cool on the counter for a couple of minutes and then put the muffin tin in the freezer to ease them out of the pan.
Color away!
I am linking this post up to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land and Get Your Craft On Tuesday at Today's Creative Blog.
Nice! They're fun to do in silicone pans, too: http://web.me.com/redshoearts/Redshoearts/Blog/Entries/2009/12/21_Snowflake_Scribblers.html
ReplyDeleteI have some egg-shaped ones I'm planning to use soon.
In addition, you can use it to teach about warm vs cool colors.
Oh and don't you just love those little IKEA bowls? They rock.
Thanks for the idea! I did this with my boys (2 and 3) this morning and they really enjoyed it. I think the 3 year old definitely got the most satisfaction peeling the crayon wrappers- it was very unusual for him to be that quiet!
ReplyDeleteI love making these crayons for my son and his friends, and I used to sell them! So many fun colors and shapes to come up with.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, I never thought of that. I bet they would make great crayons for young toddlers, like my 15 month old.
ReplyDeleteIf you get a chance, check out my link:
http://thirdst.blogspot.com/2010/03/baby-shower.html
Thanks for sharing!
Love this project - We actually made these for part of a goody bag for a party - the kids loved them! I love how you divided the colors!
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun project.
ReplyDeletethis is such a great idea, i have wanted to do it for a long time
ReplyDeleteThose are so cool! Like marbly crayons. VERY cool! Thanks for sharing a great idea.
ReplyDelete