Crayon Rocks

The label originates from the USA and was created by Barbara Lee, a special education teacher. The wax crayons are about three inches tall and look like rocks. The wax crayons do not break under pressure and train grasping with the thumb, index and middle fingers. With Crayon Rocks great works of art succeed on different materials and in natural and vibrant colors.

Crayon Rocks: Ergonomically shaped soy-based wax crayons

The Crayon Rocks wax crayons grew out of an observation by special education teacher Barbara Lee. For 23 years, she gained a lot of experience with elementary school children in special education and observed how important the three-finger grip is for writing. She got her inspiration for Crayon Rocks from occupational therapist Jan Olsen, who emphasized in his Handwriting Without Tears program that the writing grip is best learned in early childhood. In her classes, there were a great many children who could not write well enough and therefore their exams were on the line.

From Jan, Barbara learned how important it is for children to learn a stable grip for the pencil in the early years - because the skills to develop good handwriting depend on it. A simple tool to develop and encourage this skill in young children was not readily available, so she set out to create one. Four years later, she had developed a beautiful soft wax crayon made from soy that was the perfect shape and size for small children's hands.

In the beginning, Barbara worked in a garage in California, mixing paints herself in small batches and filling them into handmade molds. Shortly thereafter, two techies from the Stanford University School of Enginieering in San Francisco built a machine that could spit out 14,000 wax crayons a day, completely on its own. In 2010, the workshop moved away from the hustle and bustle of California to a rural area in Kentucky.

Crayon-Rocks -wax colors promote fine motor skills

Usually, a child's first writing tool is a crayon, which encourages them to use their thumb and first and second fingers in a three-finger grip. Therefore, Crayon Rocks is a wonderful tool for fine motor skills. Because of the shape, the pens only allow children to hold them in the correct way, so grips that hinder the development of fine motor skills don't even occur. With a closed fist or any other faulty grip style, the crayons cannot be grasped at all.

The wax crayons from Crayon Rocks are about three centimeters in size and automatically train grasping with the thumb, index and middle fingers. Thin lines can be realized just as well as area-filling painting, depending on which edge of the pencil is currently being used.

Crayon Rocks has already been tested on children with cerebral palsy, autism, developmental delays and various forms of learning disabilities. Parents and teachers of students with special needs greatly appreciate the special wax crayons.

Wax from soy instead of kerosene oil

Most conventional crayons are made from petroleum kerosene wax. Crayon Rocks are made from soy wax grown and processed in the USA. This wax is mixed with other plant waxes and a variety of non-toxic powder pigments (mineral pigments) to get beautiful colors. A natural base is used to give body to the crayons. The colors are natural and vibrant. The wax colors can also be applied in layers on top of each other, creating beautiful and blending shades of color.

Crayon Rocks make great artwork, the natural wax crayon colors last on paper, cardstock, fabrics and more. The wax crayons are suitable for children from three years and are simply fun.