What’s a mom to do with all those broken crayons that accumulate over time? Here’s an easy summer craft that doubles as a cute holder for all those annoying crayon stubs.
Materials:
Crayola air dry modeling clay (I actually made the one pictured with sawdust dough, but it was a little crumbly for this project, and I’ve had better success with modeling clay)
Pencil
Plastic googly eyes
Liquid Glue
Felt tipped maker
Directions:
1. First, have your child roll a fist sized amount of clay into a ball.
2. Pull a little of the clay out and pinch to form a snout.
3. Poke crayon stubs into the body of the hedgehog. Be careful to space fairly evenly (so the holes don’t run together) and to push the crayons deep enough into the clay (so they won’t fall out). It’s also a good idea to wiggle the crayons around just a little because the holes tend to shrink a little as they dry.
My 1 year old and 3 year old enjoyed doing this part. (Notice that my 3-year-old is wearing dress-up clothes because of course, that makes everything more fun).
4. Remove the crayon stubs (especially important if you are going to oven bake your hedgehog).
The clay will take 2-3 days to air dry, but you can speed up the process by baking at 200 degrees in the oven for a couple of hours.
5. Once the hedgehog is firm and dry, glue googly eyes in place and use a felt tipped marker to draw on the nose.
Now you have a sweet coloring buddy for your child. The crayon stubs can be taken in an out as they are used. As an added bonus, studies show that giving kids access to broken crayons can help them develop the proper hand grasp for writing. Win!
Katey writes about other craft and activity ideas for kids at her blog Having Fun at Home.
