We had so much fun making these soap crayons. It was a great sensory experience that resulted in crayons that children can use for drawing on paper or for drawing in the bath. Although the process was quite messy, it was good, clean mess. How much cleaner can you get than soap?! This is what we did…
DIY Soap Crayons
You will need:
- Soap flakes – we used Lux Soap Flakes, commonly found in the laundry aisle of the supermarket
- Food colouring
- Hot water
Instructions:
- Measure one cup of soap flakes into a bowl and add the food colouring of your choice and a tablespoon of hot water.Â
- Mix until the soap flakes have melted enough to form a thick paste.
- Mould the paste into whatever shapes you like.
- Repeat the process with different colours if you choose.
- Leave to dry out for two days before using to draw.
Top tips:
- Use lots of food colouring. The more colour you add, the brighter your crayon colours will be.
- It can take a few minutes for the soap flakes to form a paste. Adult help will be needed for this part. Just when you think it’s not going to come together, it does!
- To make flat shapes, like our stars, just pat out the paste until it’s a flat disc and then place it onto baking paper. Use cookie cutters to create your chosen shape. The baking paper stops the paste from sticking to the work surface.
- To make spheres and logs mould the paste the same as you would play dough. The spheres are easy for toddler hands to grasp and colour with.
- The paste is great for little hands to squelch and squeeze just for fun! Don’t skip this part 🙂
- Work near a sink or outside near a tap to make it easy to rinse the soap and food colouring off little hands. Thanks to the soap it comes off very easily.
For something a little different, today the Childhood 101 contributors are playing a game of online tag! It’s lots of fun and a great way to discover new blogs and fun ideas. Kylie of Octavia and Vicky shared these fab soap crayons, while I am over at Go Explore Nature with a fun outdoor art activity, creating recycled bottle lanterns. You can connect with Kylie on her blog, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
I invite you now to head on over to Debi’s blog, Go Explore Nature, where I’ve been tagged with a post about making recycled bottle lanterns with kids.
Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
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