by Mercedus Long

Created on: May 03, 2010   Last Updated: May 04, 2010

Crayons are a very under-estimated tool in the how to entertain the kids toolbox. They are a great way to provide hours of entertainment that does not come from a television set. Children love to create different pictures in either free drawing or focused projects. Crayons can also be used as a fun way to teach small children.

There are many types of crayons and each one has a benefit. Crayons that are made with glitter eliminate the need to buy glitter separately. Neon colors are terrific when you want something to be a certain color, but bright at the same time. Be sure that you have the correct sizes for the crayons as well. Smaller children generally use larger sized crayons as they hold things with their fist. These little projects are big favorites with most children.

1. Leaf coloring- Collect leaves in different shapes and sizes.  Peel the wrapper from around the crayon. Place the leaf under a sheet of white paper. Using the side of the crayon, rub it over the covered leaf. Watch as the shape of the leaf becomes visible. Afterwards the leaves can be used to make leaf collections.

2. Shape and color recognition- This is best for children that are at least 3 years old. Simply ask the child to draw a specific shape in the designated color. Use the shapes to make smiley faces. When finished hang on the fridge. Kids like to show off that they did a good job. You can also show them how to make a house using a square or rectangle for the house and a triangle for the roof.

3. Use broken pieces or make shavings-Broken pieces and shavings can be used to create depth in pictures. Rather that coloring a sun yellow, glue yellow shavings in place of the sun.

4. Make hats and planes- Use whatever picture your child colored. It can be on regular paper or taken from a coloring book.

5. Teach the color wheel-Now this is really good for older kids who can get frustrated that someone else is using the purple. Show them a little magic trick that starts with red and blue and ends with purple. It keeps coloring time fun when they know how to combine primary colors to get secondary ones.

Experiment with different ways to make crayons fun. You can draw on boxes to create a space ship or make a mural of your childs favorite characters. Your little Picasso needs very little encouragement to begin their next masterpiece. So hand them a crayon and let them get started.

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