Arts and Crafts Innovation

If, like mine, your kids have ripped through the wrappings and trappings of every gift they received and are now lying around in a bloated state of boredom, you’re probably desperate to find something to keep them occupied between now and January 5 (so that, like me, you can crack open the new novel that’s been sitting waiting for you since you opened your stocking!). Enter some exciting new products from an old favourite, Crayola.

Crayola sent my family a few new products to test out, and they’ve been a hit with various age groups. First up, the Crayola Beginnings TaDoodles Scribble & Sing.

These cool little washable markers are especially designed for toddler hands. The marker colours are sung when they’re placed in the special slot on the art station. They’re great for fine motor skills, teaching colours, shapes and patterns, and entertain for quite a while. My (very precocious) 19 month old niece loved the characters and her chubby little hands were quite adept at creating beautiful masterpieces.

The next product tested out by my seven and nine year old sons was the Crayola Glow Station. The company writes that it is “a magical light wand and a poster-sized canvas allow a child to experience the awe of glow-in-the-dark art on their own or with friends. With a built-in hanging feature, you can easily transform any wall into a masterpiece, and the reusable canvas means there are no limits to their creativity.”

My boys are not big arts and crafty types. Given a choice, they’d always rather be playing mini sticks. I wasn’t sure how they’d do with this product, but they chose to use it to invent a glow-in-the-dark hockey game, with this canvas as scoreboard. It kept them well entertained, but the only problem was that the image disappeared very quickly after the lights came back on.

Crayola’s come out with some very innovative products that ensure moms will have a couple of new tricks up their sleeves on those last days of school vacation. Just remember the batteries for these ones.