Every year at Christmas time my class of first graders are treated to a new pack of crayons. It seems like no big deal, right? No way! To 22 first graders it is a HUGE deal. They get to graduate from the 16 pack of crayons to the 24 count pack. WOO! Big accomplishment! But there is always a problem with this gift. You see, I never know what to do with the "used" crayons. Sometimes I send them home. Other times I keep them in a "spares" box. And other times we send them to under priveleged kids. (Check this out!) But this year I had a new plan for those crayons. This year I asked my class to trade me their old crayons for the new ones. THey did so willingly. I then used the bus pick up time at the end of the day to have the students peel the paper from those crayons. My goal? To recycle the crayons into new crayons for gift giving. And so, that is exactly what I did...

1) I collected the kiddo's old crayons.

2) I had the students peel the paper from those crayons.

3) We broke the crayons into itty bitty pieces (about 1-2" pieces).

4) I used a silicon baking cup mold (in the shape of a heart) and placed the crayon pieces into the molds. I filled them about 1/2 way full.

5) I placed the mold in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

6) Pull the mold out and let to cool.

7) Peel back the mold to let new crayons out.

8) Repeat process until crayons are gone.

My plan is to give these new crayons (as pictured above) to my students on Valentine's Day with a few sheets of plain white paper made into little books to decorate. Nothing says "I love you" quite like homemade! (I also made a few extras just in case and for my very own little ones at home.)