"Like Weird Syrup"

Some of our students started peeling the paper off of our extra crayons, and we were sorting them by colours.

While this was a great activity to build fine motor skills, we wanted the children to have a purpose. We asked:

"melt it in the oven. us- (use a spatula)

Faith, Keegan and I turned to Pinterest for inspiration and found some very ambitious projects! We decided to make Hot Rocks Art. Children were sent home with a task of finding the perfect rock to turn into art.

The next morning, we heated the rocks in the oven (350 for 10-12 minutes). We discovered that larger rocks need a little longer. The rocks became hot enough to melt the crayons, yet not hot enough to burn. (A few students didn't believe to rocks were hot, and touched them to see. A valuable life lesson!) 

The results were gorgeous:

It's working because the rock is hot. -Ella
It's wax so it melts. -Cameron Hu
I can use two crayons at a time. You have to go carefully. -Kristien

Look, now it's green! -Patrick

I'm making a rainbow rock! -Ethan

Hold it on for a while...now pull it off. See! You get lots. -Olivia to Kristien

Hot lava!  Look, it's starting to fall down. - Patrick

We asked the students why we were doing this project, and what we were learning. Makayla summed it up best:

"We're learning to be artists and scientists. We're watching it melt. The crayons are cold but the rock is hot. Like ice in the sun. It's like weird syrup on a rock pancake!"