Rainbow Crayons!

I've been wanting to make some rainbow crayons for a while now. I'd been tossing all our crayon odds and ends into a battered diaper wipe box, saving them for something stupendously amazingly wonderful. Recently, I saw a fun crayon craft on The Pinterest, and it reminded me: Hey, time to make some rainbow crayons! It was really easy, and the payoff was huge - the perfect craft activity for young kids.

I gathered the troops, the tidbit box, and put them to work peeling the paper off the crayons. They liked very much the process of peeling and color sorting.

Colors all sorted and ready to be melted!

What you'll need:
Crayon remnants, depapered and color quarantined.
Clean aluminum can(s). A few instructions I read said to have one can for every color you were melting. I used two. One for red and orange. And then a clean one for yellow, to which I added, green, blue, and purple. This worked well. None of the colors muddled together.
A wooden skewer for stirring.
Some kind of vessel to pour your melted wax into. At Goodwill, I found some plastic ice cube trays with long, skinny spots. I used these trays, but you could also use a mini muffin pan, or even a small load pan of some kind, and just cut the wax into slices once it hardens. One of my friend's passed along a silicone ice cube tray that will work great for next time too.

Boil water in a pan, and then lower to a simmer. You only need a few inches of water, otherwise your can will careen into the water. Drop the wax into the can, and place the can in the boiling water. In just a few minutes, the wax will melt into a smooth, saturated liquid. Stir it up well with your wooden skewer.

I tried to get a clear photo of this, but the air was so blazing hot over the pan, I didn't linger.

Next, carefully pour your wax into your container.

The wax takes just a few minutes to dry between colors. But look what pops out? RAINBOWS!

Anika was delighted to see the efforts of all her work. She started coloring right away.

I did make Anika a chore chart this week too. I'd been trying to figure out how to handle chores. In a way, I am against giving an allowance, because there are certain activities that just simply need to be done to run a household. But I understand very well how motivating a potential reward can be. We decided on a chore chart in which Anika works toward more of an experience, rather than money - like going to the library, seeing a movie, or picking a day for a picnic. So far, this plan is working. See willing couch vacuumers below.

A few photos from our quiet week:

Anika drawing

Apple tree

Man climbing rope

Teddy bear/Lady bug

Play structure 

Anika playing teacher. She pulled everyone over to "group", as she does in preschool. Notwithstanding the beer, this is a fair to accurate representation.

Kaden riding in style. He just came over to back of the Big Wheels and hopped in! Anika lovingly obliged with ten circles around the driveway.

I am excited about what's coming: summer camp, swim lessons, nature playschool, my regular walks with Kaden - all starting Monday! We've been laying low this week, enjoying the lull before all these summer activities begin. Making CSA meals, taking walks, lingering around the house in pajamas, much too much internet and TV, hours withering away... I always get into a funk without some kind of schedule. So, welcome summer! I've been waiting for you.