Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Crayola Dry Erase Crayons

About a month ago, my dry erase markers dried out (like they always do!), and when searching for a replacement, I came across Crayola's Dry Erase Crayons. I was skeptical about how they would work, but they work surprisingly well!


What I love:
  • Requires the child to press hard, providing more feedback than a marker
  • Doesn't dry out!
  • No odor! 
What I like:
  • Looks like a crayon
  • Doesn't make marks on skin as easily as markers (but they do make marks on skin if you're really trying)
  • Can also write on paper, including black paper
What I don't love:
  • Requires the child to press hard, making it difficult to use for children with a weak grasp (yes, you can love and not love the same aspect of an item!)
  • Difficult to erase. It comes with a mitt to use as an eraser, which most children are excited to use, but I haven't come across a child yet that has been able to push hard enough to actually erase (It does fully erase, and I am able to easily exert enough pressure to erase the marks completely.)
  • Since it doesn't erase easily, I'm not able to have the child practice extra letter formation by erasing the letter on Handwriting Without Tears letter cards in the correct formation. 
  • Sometimes entire chunks break off of the crayon if pressing too hard.
The box says that it washes clean from hands and clothes. I can attest to it washing off of hands easily, but I haven't yet had to wash it out of clothing, although it does seem as though it would wash out easily. As you can see from the pictures below, they are a little larger than a regular crayon, but still small enough for little hands to hold comfortably.

Here are a few pictures of the dry erase crayons in action!
Look at that beautiful grasp!





All in all, I think the Crayola Dry Erase Crayons are a good product. I will definitely keep using these crayons and I love that they don't dry out, so I don't have to keep replacing them!


To buy Crayola Dry Erase Crayons, click here.
For more information about Handwriting Without Tears, click here.
For Handwriting Without Tears Capital Letter Cards, click here.


5 comments:

  1. They easily erase with a baby wipe or with the Mr. Clean magic eraser.

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  2. Thanks for the tip, Michelle. I will definitely try that!

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  3. Great tip. It is hard for little ones to erase.

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  4. They wash out of clothes easily...as well as microfiber couches and carpet (well...there is still blue in my carpet but I haven't tried very hard to remove it)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for sharing your experience! Now that I've had a chance to use these with my students for a longer time, I don't think I'll ever go back to regular dry erase markers!

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