Every box of crayons ends up the same way: a tray of stubby, broken, paper-peeled bits that nobody wants to use. Instead of throwing them out, melt them down and pour them into molds to make chunky new crayons in fun shapes. They are far easier for little hands to grip than the worn-out stubs, and making them is a satisfying bit of recycling in itself. Ages 2 to 5.
What you need
- A pile of broken wax crayons.
- A silicone mold. Shaped ice-cube or chocolate molds work brilliantly, and the chunkier the shape the better.
- An oven, for grown-ups only.
Making the crayons
Peel off any paper wrappers and snap the crayons into small pieces. Sorting and breaking the bits is a good job for a child, and dropping them into the mold sections is a bit of color sorting too, whether you keep each shape one color or mix a rainbow into every one. Fill each section, then an adult melts them in a low oven until the wax has just gone soft and runny, which only takes a few minutes. Watch them the whole time.
Let the mold cool completely, then pop the new crayons out. Mixing several colors in one mold gives lovely marbled, multicolored crayons that color in surprising swirls.
Why they are worth making
The shaped crayons are the whole point. A chunky star, fish, or little figure is far easier for a toddler to hold than a thin, snapped stub, so children who find normal crayons fiddly will happily scribble with these. The fat shape encourages a whole-hand grip to start with, and the bright marbled colors make every mark a small surprise.
They also make a lovely homemade gift, a little bag of star or fish crayons that costs nothing but a tray of broken bits and a few minutes in the oven.
Once they are made, put them to use: our chalking walls is another easy way to scribble big, and our free animal coloring pages are the perfect thing to break the new crayons in on.