Children use their fingers and colorful paint to create crayons inside a printable crayon box. Add their name to the front of the box, and you have an adorable keepsake that can be displayed in the classroom or sent home with families.
This crayon craft for preschoolers is especially fun to use during a color unit, back-to-school activities, or while reading books about crayons, colors, and creativity.
Crayon Box Craft for Preschoolers
The crayons are made by using painted fingers to create the colorful shapes at the top of the crayon box. Each child can choose their own colors, making every finished craft completely unique.
The yellow crayon box and green grass at the bottom give the finished project the look of a giant box of crayons sitting outside.
And, of course, adding each child's name to their crayon box makes it an extra-special classroom keepsake.
What You Need
You only need a few basic supplies to make this colorful crayon craft.
- Crayon box printable
- White cardstock or construction paper
- Washable tempera paint
- Paintbrushes
- Crayons or markers
- Green paint
- Yellow paint
- Glue, if using a separate printable template
- Black marker
- Baby wipes or paper towels for easy cleanup
Teacher Tip: I recommend using washable paint for this activity. Finger painting can get messy quickly, especially when children are creating several different colors!
How to Make the Crayon Box Craft
Step 1: Prepare Your Crayon Box
The printable provides the basic outline for the crayon box, giving children a simple background for their painting.
You can also cut the paper into a rectangle before beginning if you want the finished crafts to all be approximately the same size.
Step 2: Paint the Crayons
Choose several different colors of washable paint.
Have the children use their fingers to create the colorful crayons inside the box.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple are all great choices.
Instead of worrying about making every crayon exactly the same, let children experiment with the paint. The slightly imperfect shapes are part of what makes this craft so adorable!
You can encourage children to make several crayons in different colors.
Step 3: Add the Yellow Crayon Box
This gives the project its recognizable crayon-box appearance.
Children can use a paintbrush, sponge, or even their fingers for this part of the activity.
Step 4: Add the Name
You can write the names yourself with a black marker, or have children practice writing their own names if they are developmentally ready.
This turns a simple art project into a great name recognition and name-writing activity for preschoolers.
Step 5: Add the Green
The green paint creates the look of the underside of the crayon box and adds another fun color to the project.
Children can use their fingers or a paintbrush to make the bottom green.
Allow the entire project to dry before displaying it.
Books to Read with Your Crayon Craft
This crayon box craft would be a great companion activity for so many books about colors, crayons, and creativity.
The Day the Crayons Quit
This is probably the first book I would reach for when doing this craft!
The crayons in the story each have their own personalities and complaints, making it a wonderful way to get children talking about colors.
After reading the story, ask children:
- Which crayon was your favorite?
- What is your favorite color?
- If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
- What would your crayon say if it could talk?
Then let them create their own colorful crayon box.
The Day the Crayons Came Home
Continue your crayon theme with this fun follow-up story.
Talk about the different crayons and their adventures before allowing children to create their own box of colorful crayons.
This would also be a fun opportunity to let children invent a name or personality for one of the crayons they paint.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
This classic book is perfect for preschoolers learning their colors.
As you read, have children identify each color they see. When the story is finished, invite them to choose some of those colors for their crayon box craft.
This makes an easy connection between color recognition, reading, and art.
Mouse Paint
Mouse Paint is an especially great choice if you're teaching primary and secondary colors.
After reading the story, let children experiment with mixing colors before creating their crayon boxes.
Try asking:
"What do you think will happen if we mix these two colors?"
This turns the craft into a simple science and color-mixing experiment.
A Color of His Own
This sweet story provides an opportunity to talk about colors and individuality.
After reading the book, tell children that their crayon boxes don't have to look like anyone else's.
Everyone can choose different colors and create their own unique design.
Little Blue and Little Yellow
This is another wonderful book for introducing color mixing.
After reading, let children explore what happens when different colors are combined. Then have them choose their favorite colors for their crayon box.
Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes
Pete's shoes change colors throughout the story, making this a fun choice for a color-themed preschool lesson.
After reading the book, see how many colors your students can remember.
Then create colorful crayon boxes using those same colors.
Broken Crayons Still Color
Help your kids process big feelings, build a social-emotional tool kit, and find beauty in life's challenges with this creative story that expresses the hope of the gospel from podcast host, speaker, and mom Toni Collier.
God's Very Colorful Creation
In this faithful and fun account of Genesis 1, children ages 2-4 will discover how God made his very good and wonderful creation. Children will learn that God used every shade of the rainbow, and so many more!
What Children Are Learning
Color Recognition
Children identify, name, and distinguish between different colors.
Fine-Motor Skills
Using fingers, paintbrushes, and crayons helps children develop fine-motor control.
Name Recognition
Adding each child's name creates a natural opportunity to practice recognizing letters and names.
Creativity
There is no single "correct" way to make a box of crayons. Children can choose their own colors and designs.
Following Directions
Children practice listening and following a sequence of simple instructions.
Language Development
Talking about the colors, books, and artwork encourages children to use descriptive language and expand their vocabulary.
Crayon Box Craft Classroom Display
These colorful crayon boxes would make an adorable classroom display!
You could display all of the children's artwork together with a sign that says:
"Our Class Is Full of Color!"
Or:
"Look How Bright We Shine!"
Another fun idea is to put the crafts together to create one giant classroom box of crayons.
Because each child's crayon box is different, the finished display becomes a colorful representation of your classroom community.
Make This Crayon Craft Even More Educational
Want to turn the craft into more than an art activity?
Try incorporating some of these ideas:
Color Hunt: Before starting the craft, have children look around the classroom for objects that match each paint color.
Color Sorting: Give children colored objects and have them sort them into matching color groups.
Favorite Color Graph: Ask each child to name their favorite color and create a simple class graph.
Color Mixing: Let children experiment with mixing primary colors before beginning the craft.
Name Practice: Have children trace or write their names on the crayon box.
Book Connection: Read a color-themed story before beginning the craft and discuss the colors and characters afterward.
Free Printable Crayon Box Craft
Grab the free printable crayon box template and let your little learners create their own colorful masterpieces with washable paint.
This is an easy activity for preschool, pre-K, kindergarten, daycare, homeschool, or a classroom color unit. You can use it as a book companion, a name-recognition activity, a color-learning activity, or simply as a fun process-art project.
And don't forget to write each child's name on their finished crayon box! These colorful crafts make wonderful classroom decorations and sweet keepsakes for families.
Pair it with a favorite crayon or color book, grab some washable paint, and let your little artists create a box full of colorful crayons!
Written by Diana Chastain from Nanny to Mommy
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