South Charlotte, NC – During our “stay-at-home” time right now, sometimes life with kids feels a little bit crazy. (Is it just me or does anyone else feel like they might lose their mind during this quarantine?) Once school work and chores are done, the afternoon seems to stretch on forever and the kids inevitably get bored. Having a project or two on hand is a good idea to fill those long afternoons. Here are two relatively inexpensive project ideas that are sure to keep the kids busy and entertained.

Under $15: Tape-resist chalk art

Many of you may already have supplies for this project on hand. You’ll need sidewalk chalk, painter’s tape or duct tape, and a cement patio or driveway. Although you can use regular sidewalk chalk, if you want to make your project even more interesting, Crayola makes several special effects sidewalk chalks including glitter, neon and tie-dye.

To begin the project, choose a large square on your patio or driveway. The bigger, the better! Then, tear strips of tape and place them on the cement, creating multiple geometric patterns. Let the kids help by giving them a strip of tape and allowing them to make the next line in the pattern. This is a good time to have your little one practice naming shapes, as you create diamonds, triangles, squares, rectangles, etc. on the patio.

Next, give the kids some chalk and let them have fun coloring in the shapes. Once all of the shapes have been colored, remove the tape. The end result will look like a stained glass window on your patio!

This project is simple, but the end result is really beautiful. It’s big enough for the whole family to work on together and appeals to kids of all ages. Best of all, it gets the kids outside and will keep them busy for hours!

Under $25: Recycled chunky crayons

If you have lots of old, broken crayons, this project is for you! All you need is some old crayons, a few silicone molds in fun shapes, and an oven.

There are many different shaped molds to choose from. Unicorns, Vehicles, Dinosaurs, and Stars are good choices. When you choose a mold, make sure it is oven safe and make sure the cavities are big enough to hold a good amount of broken crayon pieces.

This project can feel a bit expensive at first, since the molds are around $10 each.  Remember, though, that the molds can be reused to make crayons many different times.

To get started, peel the wrappers off the old crayons and break them into small pieces. Next, choose your colors and fill the molds with the broken pieces. Then, place the molds on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake until completely melted. Once melted, allow the crayons to completely cool and harden before carefully removing from the mold. Finally, have fun coloring with your new crayons!

These chunky crayons are great for little hands just learning to color and write. Even my older kids love making crayons. They love the fun shapes and the multi-colored effect when they use the crayons.

Enjoy!

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