Earth Day is right around the corner on April 22nd. What a great time to teach our children why we celebrate Earth Day using a fun, upcycled craft like DIY Earth Day Recycled Crayons.
In my opinion, every day should be Earth Day!
It’s important to teach our children starting at a young age that our actions (every day of the year) impact our Earth and environment.
As parents, we can teach them that making eco-friendly decisions can be fun! Just get a little creative, reuse and repurpose old items instead of throwing them in the garbage, and upcycle those items into something that looks new again!
These simple, creative DIY Earth Day recycled crayons are the perfect eco-friendly craft that can protect the earth on Earth Day and help spread the message to other families.
**Download the FREE cards using the form below to turn your Earth Day Crayons into simple gifts to pass out to friends or classmates!**
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HOW TO MAKE EARTH DAY RECYCLED CRAYONS
Step 1 – Collect unwanted or broken crayons from your home, nearby schools, or friends. Keeping crayons out of the landfills is important since a half-million pounds of old crayons are thrown away every year.
This is a great teaching moment too. Explain to your children how upcycling old items is a sustainable choice that will keep crayons out of the landfills!
Step 2 – Sort the crayons by colors – groups of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, white, etc. This will make designing the new crayons easier. You will want to keep the blue, green and possibly white crayons for this craft. Save the other colors for making other everyday crayons or even Eco-Friendly Valentine’s Day Cards next year!
Step 3 – Find an old mini-muffin tin to make the earth-shaped crayons or a heart-shaped silicone crayon mold. Make sure it’s oven-safe! I found my old mini-muffin tin in my kitchen but did purchase the mini-heart shape molds from Amazon.
Step 4 – Remove the paper wrapper from the crayons. Since this is a kid-friendly craft, I recommend soaking the crayons in warm water to loosen the wrappers. It can be a little messy but is a safe option.
We happen to have a Crayola Crayon Melter kit that my daughter received as a birthday gift, which includes a “label cutter.” So I use this to cut the label and then my daughters peel the label off. However, you can also use a craft knife to cut peel the wrapper off easily, but please make sure this is done safely by an adult!
Step 5 – Save the crayon wrappers to be used as a fire starter for your fireplace or campfire. This a great way to reuse the entire crayon and keep the wrappers out of the landfill.
Step 6 – Break the crayons into pieces that will fit inside your crayon molds.
Step 7 – Place a baking sheet under the crayon molds and fill with your choice of green, blue or white crayons.
Step 8 – Bake the crayons for 15-20 minutes at 250 degrees, or follow the directions that come with your silicone molds. Let them cool on the counter for about 30 minutes and then place them in the freezer for another 30 minutes, or until the sides of the crayons start to pull away from the sides of the mold. This will make it super easy to pop the crayons out of the molds.
Step 9 – Download the free Earth Day Crayons printable or the Mini Earth Day Heart Crayons printable. Cut the cards out on the solid lines and attach the new crayons using a little tape. Or you can skip this step and just pass out your new crayons to family and friends to help celebrate Earth Day this year!
{Are you ready to start going green and living clean? Get this FREE 3-Day mini workshop. Start today! Perfect for zero waste beginners and busy families! Get the video for Day 1 below!}
ENJOY EARTH DAY TODAY AND EVERY DAY!
This simple, eco-friendly Earth Day craft is fun for the entire family! My three daughters love making these and really do help with the entire process.
I love that they are learning not to throw away crayons even when they are broken and are choosing to make these beautiful DIY Earth Day recycled crayons to share with their friends!
I hope you find this quick tutorial helpful too and will add it to your Earth Day activities this year.
Want to remember this craft? Pin it for later!
P.S. – Are you ready to start going green and living clean? Get this FREE 3-Day mini workshop. Start today! Perfect for zero waste beginners and busy families! Get the video for Day 1 below!