Terri Thompson

Melting Crayon Science Experiment

May 22, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Will crayons melt in the sun? If so, how long will it take?

We set out to find the answer to that question one day with a melting crayon science experiment.

It took a bit of patience and some problem solving. But, in the end, our science brains found an answer.

Will crayons melt in the sun? Find the answer to this question with a fun melting crayon science experiment. It's a perfect summer science project.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Gather your supplies for your crayon melting experiment

Broken bits of crayons
Muffin tin or mold (silicon ones work best)
My Science Experiment page
A sunny day

If you don’t want to use a muffin tin, you can also use an ice cube tray or even several small disposable bathroom cups.

First, ask a few questions

We began our melting crayon science experiment by gathering supplies and asking a few questions.

The experiment itself was fun, but I wanted to challenge my girls to think like scientists during our experiment.

I created our My Science Experiment page to help us record our observations.

If you want to do this experiment too, please download and print your own science experiment page at this link.

We asked our question, do crayons melt in the sun?

We then made our predictions. The girls thought they would melt.

We also talked a bit about the things that would help the crayons melt. We determined that we needed to put our crayons out in the bright sunlight.

Set up your melting crayon science activity

We found all of our broken bits of crayons and put them in a silicon muffin tin. I found the silicon works the best, because it is easy to pop the crayons out of later.

Once we had our muffin cups filled, we took it all outside and found one of the sunniest spots in our yard.

We left the crayons bits outside for about two hours before we checked on them for the first time.

The main reason we waited that long was because while it was sunny, the temperature was only around 80 degrees F.

The crayons would melt, but slowly.

If you’re doing this on a hotter day, check it sooner! I’d recommend checking after the first 30 minutes and then every 30 minutes after.

We had some melting after 2 hours, then started checking every hour.

We recorded each of our observations on our science experiment recording sheet.

After several hours, we had partially melted crayons and we wanted to try to speed up the process.

We did some brainstorming and decided to put our crayons in our car which was sitting in the sun.

The hot car did the trick and our crayons finished melting. Make sure you have an adult and oven mitts to remove your muffin tin from the car. It’s as hot as an oven!

Our conclusion

We took our melted crayons inside and let them cool.

In the meantime, we wrote our conclusion. Yes, crayons did melt in the sun. The higher the temperature, the quicker they will melt.

After the crayons cooled and hardened, we popped them out of the muffin tray and tried them out. Our melting crayons science activity was a success!

Yield: 1 experiment

Melting Crayon Science Experiment

Can you melt crayons in the sun? Find out with this fun melting crayon science experiment that explores heat, the sun, and changing states of matter.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 25 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost Under $5 (depending on the supplies you already have on hand)

Materials

Tools

My Science Experiment recording sheet

Instructions

Print out your recording sheet and make your prediction. Will crayons melt in the sun? How long do you think it will take?
Peel all the paper off your broken crayons. Break them into smaller pieces if needed to fit in your mini muffin pan.
Add 5 to 6 pieces of crayon into each cup. Mix the colors up or keep similar colors together.
Bring the crayons outside on a hot, sunny day. Make sure to set them someplace where they will get a lot of sunshine.
Check back after 30 minutes. Have they started to melt? Record your observations.
Keep checking every half hour. Record your observations each time.
Once your crayons have fully melted, record your time. How long did it take?
Bring your crayons to a cooler place to cool and harden again. Once you pop them out of the muffin cups, you'll have some fun new muffin tin crayons!

Notes

If you don't have a mini muffin tray, you could also use an ice cube tray or even small bathroom cups to hold your crayons.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

My favorite resource for science at home

Have you ever tried Green Kid Craft kids? We’ve got a yearly subscription and absolutely love it. Each month we get a box with everything we need for 3-4 themed STEM projects (plus a booklet with even more projects you can). Our last shipment was full of chemistry projects!

Green Kid Crafts is a great way to have science projects ready to go. You can get a subscription like we have or buy single boxes.

Get a subscription here.

Find other themed boxes here.

You can find even more fun projects for your 2nd grader by visiting the rest of the team. You’ll find math, reading, writing, and more.

Free Addition Facts Game from Live Over C’s

Number Ordering Activity from Sallie Borrink Learning

Interest Based Learning Project from Still Playing School

Free Back to School Noun Practice from Look! We’re Learning!

What I Love About School Art Project from Planet Smarty Pants

All About Me Flag Project from School Time Snippets

Getting to Know You Back to School Game from Preschool Powol Packets

Free All About Me Worksheets (LEGO Style) at 124 Homeschool 4 Me

Me Llamo – Simple Spanish Game from Rainy Day Mum

Setting Up a Homework Station at Crafty Kids at Home

Get more STEM projects delivered to your inbox

Wouldn’t it be so much fun to get STEAM family activities delivered to your inbox? I think so! That’s why I’ve created this fun series, STEAM Family Fun, to be delivered to your inbox. After going through all the letters in STEAM each week with a fun activity devoted to each, you’ll start receiving a fun STEAM activity once a month. (And I’ll also pop up in your inbox occasionally if I’ve got other fun things to share.)

Fill out the form below to start receiving STEAM Family Fun in your inbox.

Easy Word Family Match Game

May 2, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Word families are one of the building blocks for learning to read.

If you have a good grasp on word families, you’ll be well on your way to decoding words. And, the more words you can decode, the better you can read.

Word families are that important.

This simple word family match game is easy to make and a fun way for your child to practice recognizing and reading word families.

Practice reading and rhyming with this simple word family match game for kids. It's easy to make and can be used for any set of word families.

Word Families, sometimes known as phonograms, are the one syllable endings of a group of words. For example, the -at family would contain the words hat, cat, chat, that, sat, etc.

This game supports any group of word families. Select the ones that your child is working on in class or any that you see your child struggling with. I do like this list to use for reference. You can find the most common word families and many examples of each at this link.

Supplies Needed

2 different colors of construction paper
Ruler
Scissors
Black marker

How to make your word family match game

Begin by cutting off enough extra paper from each sheet of construction paper to turn it into a large square. My squares were 9 inches by 9 inches. Divide each large square into 16 equal-sized smaller squares (2-1/4 inches each). You’ll have 32 total squares. (I know, that’s a lot!)

Next, choose your words. You will need eight different sets of word families, each set will have four words. Use two squares of one color and two squares of your second color for each set.

For example, in the above picture, I used the -en family: den, men, when, then.

Put words on each of your squares.

How to play this word family match game

Mix up all your word family and spread them out.

Challenge your child to create eight different four squares of words by sorting the squares into word families.

This words best as a single-player game. But, two kids can play together. Just have them take turns putting together their four squares.

When you’re done, you’ll have eight different larger squares for each word family. If you put them all together, you’ll have a larger word quilt.

Extend the fun with some more versions of this game

Practice reading the words out loud after you create a four square.

Can you name even more words for each word family? After your child makes a four square, challenge them to name two more words for each word family.

Choose one of the word family squares and see if you can find more examples in a favorite book.

How would you add to the fun?

If you liked this word family match game, you may also like one of these reading games:

Stacking Rhyming Words

AD Word Family Activity: Highlighter Words

Word Family Slam

Sight Word Tallies

LEGO Word Family Sorting at This Reading Mama

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Discover a New Playground for Outdoor Family Fun

May 1, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Are you often trying to find ideas for outdoor family fun?

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with this all the time.

I check out community resources and think about some of our favorite locations and other family fun ideas we’ve done in the past… that is, IF I’m actually thinking of things ahead of time.

Normally, though, the weekend sneaks up on me. Almost every single week. I have nothing planned and we end up spending all weekend at home. Sound familiar?

Don’t get me wrong, it can be nice to have a relaxing weekend at home. But, sometimes, we just want to get out and do something fun. That’s when you need a few go-to, easy ideas in your pocket that you can do anytime.

One of those ideas that we’ve done on occasion is to discover a “new to us” park.

Go on a fun and inexpensive family adventure by discovering a "new to you" park together. You'll be able to get outside and have fun together.

Disclosure: This post is written in support of the 7th Annual Kids to Parks Day from the National Park Trust. All ideas and opinions are my own. There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

What is a “new to us” park?

Basically, a “new to us” park is any park that we’ve never visited. Simple.

It could be a park in your hometown or one in a neighboring city. Just find one you’ve never visited, because part of the adventure is discovering someplace new.

Where can I find a “new to us” park for outdoor family fun?

Luckily, thanks to the internet, it’s easy to find a new park.

To start, you can simple search for “parks in [insert city and state]” and very often you’ll easily find some results. When we moved to a new city last summer, I did this soon after we unpacked. I easily found all of the parks in our new town and we had tons of fun checking them out.

Another way to find new parks is to just pay attention while you drive. Make a mental note or jot locations down on a piece of paper if you pass a fun park. I discovered one on our last road trip in a nearby small town that we’re going to have to check out soon.

You never know what you might discover!

We’ve found some absolute gems by just picking out a random park on a map. We’ve discovered farm theme playgrounds and petting zoos.

Some parks have gone above and beyond with unique playgrounds and open-ended toys. One such playground in a local nature center had a bin full of kid-sized shovels and an open invitation to dig. Awesome!

But, even if you discover a a very typical style playground, you’ll still have tons of outdoor family fun. Explore, play together, laugh, and enjoy your family adventure.

How can you make the most of your outdoor family fun at the park?

There are so many things you can do to make the day even more special.

Pack a picnic lunch and eat together before playing. Many parks have picnic tables you can use, but pack a blanket just in case they don’t. You’ll always find a grassy area to spread your blanket.

Have a scavenger hunt. There are tons of ideas online that you can print, or you can do something simple like this scavenger hunt we went on in our backyard that could be easily adapted for any park.

Bring along some fun outdoor toys. Bring a Frisbee, a football, or a beach ball along. This is especially fun if you happen to find a park with big open grassy areas.

Explore the neighboring areas. If you’re visiting a park in a nearby town, see if there is anything else fun to do. Are there nearby nature trails for a walk? Or maybe there’s a fun ice cream shop for a treat? Explore and have fun.

And, most important of all, relax and realize that no matter how good or bad the park is, the most important thing is time together with the family. (If the park is truly terrible, just pack up and find another park. You can always go to a tried-and-true favorite.)

Have fun exploring a “new to you” park together? It’s great fun, inexpensive, and the best part is that you can go on this family adventure again and again any time you want some outdoor family fun.

Have some outdoor family fun and adventure by discovering a new park together. Get outside with this fun and free family activity!

Fun Toys to Bring to the Park

If you want to add to the fun on your family adventure, you can bring a simple toy to play with while you’re there. Here are a few fun ideas:

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

Panda Bookmark Craft for Kids

April 30, 2019 By Terri Thompson

What do you like to use to save your place in your current book?

Do you just grab a scrap of paper or do you prefer a cute bookmark?

At our house, we love a cute bookmark, like this simple panda bookmark craft. It’s so cute and so much fun!

Save your spot in your current book with this easy panda bookmark craft for kids using this simple drawing tutorial and a few supplies.

Let’s grab a few supplies and get ready to create. You’ll have a new, fun bookmark to use in just a little bit of time.

Supplies needed for your panda bookmark craft

White cardstock
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Black marker
Craft knife

How to make your panda bookmark

Start with drawing a circle for your head at the top of your piece of cardstock. If you want to use a template, a milk carton lid is about the right size.

Next draw two parallel lines coming down from your head, approximately 5 inches long. Make sure they are wide enough apart to give your bookmark some support, about 1-3/4 inches apart.

Join the two parallel lines with a straight line across the bottom.

Add two rounded ears at the top of your head.

Next, add your paws underneath the head. Make a simple u-shape.

Now, it’s time to add our facial features.

For your eyes, add two large ovals with smaller circles inside.

Add a small circle nose and a simple mouth.

After you’re satisfied with your drawing, trace all the lines with the black marker.

Use the marker to color in your paws, ears, nose, and larger ovals around your eyes.

Use the scissors to cut out your bookmark.

Finally, use your craft knife to cut around the paws. Leave your paws connected at the top so that you can slide it over your pages.

Note: I have this ceramic craft knife that I love to use. It’s easier to hold, stays sharper, and is much safer than a retractable craft knife. If you are ready to let your child use a tool like this, this is a great choice. If not, have an adult do this step.

Your panda bookmark is ready to save your place in your current book! Let’s get reading!

Use your bookmark to save your place in one of these great books!

Are your looking for a great book for your new panda bookmark? Here are some fun choices that I would recommend.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

IN Word Family Game: Hide and Seek Words

April 24, 2019 By Terri Thompson

How many ways are there to practice word families?

I can’t even count them all. The possibilities for word family games are endless.

We’ve done some Highlighter Words and even made an AT Hat. This time, we’re going to play a fun IN word family game: Hide and Seek Words.

Hide words, find them, and read them with this fun IN Word Family Game: Hide and Seek Words. Post includes printable word cards.

Prep your IN word family game

Before you begin, you’ll need a set of words. I’ve prepared a batch of IN words family printable flashcards you can use. Click here to download and print.

There are 15 words that print on two pieces of paper. Print them out on regular paper or card stock for durability.

Cut apart all the cards.

It’s time to play hide and seek words!

You need at least two people to play this game.

You need one person to hide the words. (This is a great job for a parent!) And, you need at least one other person to find the words. You can have as many seekers as you would like.

Take all the IN words and hide them. You can play this game indoors or outdoors. Anything goes!

Play hide and seek words outside with your kids to help them learn word families.

Once all the words are hidden, it’s time to seek. The job of the seeker is to find a word, read the word, and say the word. Can you find them all?

This IN word family game can be played over and over until you’ve mastered all the words. It’s such a fun way to practice reading.

More fun variations of this IN word family game

Are you working on a different word family? You can just print out a different set of cards to use with this game. You can go here to find all my word family flashcards.

Try this game with sight words or spelling words instead of word families. Just write your your words on index cards to hide.

How would you play this game?

Terri Thompson

Gather your supplies for your crayon melting experiment

First, ask a few questions

Set up your melting crayon science activity

Our conclusion

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Notes

Recommended Products

You may also like one of these science experiments:

My favorite resource for science at home

You can find even more fun projects for your 2nd grader by visiting the rest of the team. You’ll find math, reading, writing, and more.

Get more STEM projects delivered to your inbox

Supplies Needed

How to make your word family match game

How to play this word family match game

Extend the fun with some more versions of this game

If you liked this word family match game, you may also like one of these reading games:

More games to make reading fun

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

What is a “new to us” park?

Where can I find a “new to us” park for outdoor family fun?

You never know what you might discover!

How can you make the most of your outdoor family fun at the park?

You may also like one of these family fun ideas:

Fun Toys to Bring to the Park

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

Supplies needed for your panda bookmark craft

How to make your panda bookmark

You may also like one of these animal crafts

Use your bookmark to save your place in one of these great books!

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Prep your IN word family game

It’s time to play hide and seek words!

More fun variations of this IN word family game

You may also like one of these fun reading games:

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

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