by Monique Nickalls from Your Cheeky Monkey
Ever wondered what to do with all the end bits of crayons you end up with when you have kids? Sometimes it seems such a waste to throw them away, but if your kids are anything like mine they don’t want to use those silly little bits they can’t hold onto properly.
So here is a great way to use them up, as well as being a really fun activity to do with your kids on a rainy day. My sons and I also did this when they were in Prep for ‘Make and Explain’ Show & Tell, which worked really well as it’s very hands on for kids and simple enough for them to explain in class. Plus, they can take in the finished product for their classmates to try out as well.
Recycled Rainbow Crayons are very simple to make, and the results are pretty much immediate, which is always good for impatient little toddlers and pre-schoolers.
To make crayons you will need:
an oven muffin tray
paper cupcake cases
crayons bits
How to make your own crayons:
Gather together all the little ends and broken bits of crayons you can find. Peel all paper off the crayons and throw this away.
Preheat oven to 1200C
Put desired amount of muffin cases in a muffin tin, calculate 6 for about 1/2 cup crayon pieces. It’s a good idea to use 2 muffin cases in each muffin tin hole as some of the oils from the crayons do soak through when in the oven.
Put a few pieces of crayon in each muffin case. Mix up the colours, you will be surprised at the end results! You can make them quite thin for older children by just putting in a few crayons, or thick and chunky for younger ones by putting more in.
Put tray in oven – It will take 10 to 15 minutes for the crayons to melt. Keep in mind it doesn’t take much heat or time for the crayons to melt fully (I vividly remember leaving a crayon in the back of my Mum’s car when I was young and getting in a LOT of trouble when a hot day came along and it melted everywhere!).
Take tray out of oven and leave in a safe spot away from little hands to cool and harden, about 30 – 60 minutes.
When completely hard and cool, peel cupcake wrappers off and enjoy some rainbow colouring!
© Monique Nickalls BSc (hons) Dip Prof Couns JP (Qual) resides in Queensland and is a Mum of 3. Monique writes parenting articles published by online and print publications and organisations such as PANDA, Mumzone, Your Child, Connect 2 Mums, WebDiagnosis, and many more. She also spends her time running online baby store Your Cheeky Monkey. Find Your Cheeky Monkey on Facebook for giveaways and updates!
