Why I love Crayola Products

I love Crayola products! Who doesn’t?! Crayola makes reliable, dependable, arts and crafts products geared toward children while keeping parent needs in mind. And they cannot be compared to in regard to quality. Have you used a crayon at a restaurant with your child while waiting for your dinner? I’m sure you have and I’m sure you know without a doubt that if it doesn’t say Crayola, it will snap with a vigorous filling in of a flower or racecar. Every time. SNAP!

Think back to your own experience cracking open a brand new box of perfectly sharpened crayons – all beautifully organized with the colors of the rainbow and every tone in between. Ahhhh. An organizational addict’s dream come true.

Well, Mama, it’s even better now. The products that we know so well have been used to inspire an even brighter, more child welcoming world of creativity. It’s amazing.

As an educator, I am always looking for the best products at the best price, because I run through them like crazy. I keep a constant supply of open-ended arts and crafts tools within reach to illustrate how welcome children in my care are to take their imagination and turn them into beauty to be shared. But, doing this means I go through a lot of products, and more so, am cleaning up the wildness of creativity (read: the mess that is constantly on my floor at the art table.) So I need something I can buy a lot of, without spending an arm and a leg.

As a mother, after the day is done, I’m looking for activities that need a little less engagement from me, and allow my daughter to color outside the lines, to grow and learn, but to allow me the opportunity to step away to attend to the other needs of my family and home. I needed safe, reliable, and welcoming activities that would encourage my daughter to play independently.

I’ve done a lot of research. I’ve tried a lot of products and I always come back to what I know, love and trust. Crayola.

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The 11 Best Crayola Products for Back to School and at Home Play!

Here is a list of the products I most regularly use in my home, daycare and on the go with my family. This is not a full list as it would go on and on, from the giant box of crayons and classroom box of markers I buy to the papers I use that hold up to the earliest of finger painters, or the modeling clay that builds those important muscles in the hands and arms.

But I have shared those products that I think you could most use at home to allow you watch your little one playing, learning, dreaming, and creating, while you join in play or while letting you have a cup of coffee, or pick away at something else for a little mom time. 

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My Favorite Crayola Products for Back to School

1. Window writers – I’ve talked about these before in a post about the ways you can keep your little one entertained at home, and do they deliver! Little Bee and her daycare friends have loved turning our front window into a masterpiece, which wipes away super easily. I don’t know if it’s the idea of writing on something you never thought you were allowed to write on before, the way it looks on the window, or the fact that everyone that walks by sees it, but this has become a very requested activity at my house. It works great on a mirror as well!

2. Twist Crayons –Okay, so take that image of crayon awesomeness and jack it up a notch. These are one of my favorite things that Crayola makes. The crayon twists up so it’s always in perfect coloring readiness, but acts like a pen or pencil, which is perfection for early writers looking to develop those fine motor skills.

3. Side Walk Chalk –  This item could be a list within itself as Crayola makes countless types of chalk play. I have yet to meet a child who isn’t lost in the idea of writing on the driveway, or sidewalk in early spring, of creating chalk paint, or creating a blackboard inside. We use chalk in so many ways but Crayola makes it pretty easy with all the types that they offer. Small, wide, multi colors, chalk paint, the list goes on. So cool.

4. Bath Dropz and Bath Crayons –  Well, that’s two things I suppose but we love them both so I had to share both of them. As I mentioned in a recent post, I am working to declutter our home (and keep the clutter out… not sure which is worse or more challenging) and part of that means we don’t have any “bath toys”. We use the things we already have around the house; bowls, spoons, sponges, that encourage and promote learning through play while promoting the benefits of water play (more on that here). But the one thing I think has such value in tub play are these colorful creations. Promoting writing practice in the tub is so much fun (and it helps that it washes away so simply), and changing the color of the tub water makes a task that formerly used to cue bedtime woes in my house, that now encourage Little Bee to willingly hop in the tub.

5. Mess Free Everything! Well, not everything, but just about! This is another one that could be a giant list itself. We love the Mess Free Paint and Mess Free Markers the most but I hadn’t realized just how many “mess free” products they made! The Mess Free Markers are genius for long car trips that mean marker doesn’t end up EVERYWHERE and make a perfect Doctor’s office waiting activity. But, I use this stuff at home too because as I noted above, after a long day and I’m making supper or cleaning up from the day, I don’t want to discourage creativity in my daughter, but I also don’t want to clean up another giant mess. The Mess Free Paint is currently my favorite office art that my daughter made for me. It truely is beautiful and worthy of a frame.

6. Light Up Tracing Table – move over whiteboard, there’s a new awesome activity in town. Seriously Mama, this one is pretty cool. We actually use this light table for lots of different things beyond the tracing feature. Using translucent paper, you can overlay to blend colors, or use colorful plastic blocks and watch the light shine through.

7. Picture Projector – My daughter got this one as a gift and it was a huge hit! Having Little Bee’s creations blow up onto the wall makes for an amazing response each time we do it. It’s pretty neat and makes an awesome gift. If you brought this one to a birthday party, you’d be a pretty popular mom.

8. Light Board – We don’t actually have this one in play yet. I have purchased it for my daughter and am saving it for her for her birthday and a trip that we are soon taking. She is going to LOVE IT! I think this would really encourage reluctant writers to get practice holding pens and pencils to see their art shine like a billboard!

9. Finger Paint – I go through A LOT of paint at my house. I love using paint for play which you can read more about here. Having children of different ages around, I really needed something safe for those who would be covered in their art by the end of the day, but not leave anyone out of the play. Finding a good quality finger paint is surprisingly challenging, and I fell in love with what Crayola offered.

10. Color and Erase Mat – Little Bee found this under the Christmas Tree last year which was perfect for her age then, as well as now (2.5). Having the art stay in one play, be travel ready, allow for open-ended play… all my favorites in one place.

11. Washable Glue – I’m seeing a trend of categories that could be long lists. Imagine the disaster of learning to use glue, having to share glue among a group of children, and wanting children to have the freedom to create anything they like… with glue. It’s a mess. Finding a washable glue that actually washes away was something I celebrated (alone, because no one really felt as passionately about this as I did…) when I finally found it and then coming to realize Crayola carried everything from glue that little ones could open themselves, to glitter glue, and colored glue… alllll washable. So great!