In the past, I’ve recycled bits of old crayons into interesting shapes, but never before have we made one giant recycled crayon! This project involves a lot of adult prep, but the resulting rainbow crayon is a delight.

To start, I removed the wrappers from the few crayons remaining from our once-giant box. It helps to soak the crayons briefly in water, after which the wrappers slip right off.

Next, you’ll need an empty tin can (I used an olive can), cleaned and dried. Working with one color family at a time, break the crayons into smaller pieces and place in the tin can. Place the tin can in a saucepan, and add boiling water around it. The wax will begin to melt almost immediately! Pour into a plastic container (empty play dough canisters were perfect!) and let set.

As the red layer set, it was time to melt the orange crayons and so on until I’d worked my way through the rainbow. I didn’t always let the old layer set long enough, which meant the yellow, green and purple layers weren’t as easy to see. Next time, I would be a bit more patient!

Still, the end result was a beautifully-layered crayon. Snip off the plastic container and hand over to your waiting toddler.

Veronika loved that she could change color depending just on how she held it. “This way is red…” she said.

“And this way is blue!” I also showed her how she could rub the crayon along on its side, showing multiple colors at once, or make big circles with it.

“The crayon is so big!” she marveled. This is the perfect crayon for toddler hands and sure to be a delight.