When reading one of my favorite blogs for art projects, I came across this beautiful and very colorful crayon sculpture. Only simple supplies are needed; a glue gun and a box of 64 crayons. We used an 8″x 8″ piece of wood for the base but cardboard or anything else you can find around the house will work. I’ve had the boxes of crayons for a while and was just waiting for the right moment to start the project with the boys. The last couple of rainy days provided the perfect opportunity. The boys were so excited about this activity, I think it was mostly because they got to use a glue gun for the first time, but then once they started seeing their art come together, they were actually excited about the project more. L did a dance and sang “Oh yeah!” every time he put a new crayon on, he was pretty proud of himself! I had to help him a bit because the glue gun was hard to squeeze and he was too slow putting the crayon on before the glue dried. We worked as a team and took turns putting the crayon on and doing the glue gun. He, for the most part (other than structurally at times), chose where the crayons would go. B needed little help, I only had to remind him at times to “add supports” and that was about it.
Some notes: I did use a low heat glue gun which in some cases made it trickier because the glue dried very fast, but I wasn’t up for trying a hotter gun the first time around. I am very glad I went in this direction because L would have for sure burned his toes. When glueing the crayons together be sure to put the glue on the paper of the crayon. I’m not sure why this common sense thing didn’t occur right away to me (wax= no stick), but nevertheless, use the paper.
I am certainly going to do this with the boys again, maybe next time building house-like structures. I did feel a bit guilty about wasting a box of brand new crayons but seeing the boys pride in their final product and their smiles when they were done, made it totally worth it. We displayed the sculptures in the boys’ rooms ~ aren’t they beautiful?!
*Original post 2016
