I swear I learn something new every day and today is no different.
I was today years old when I learned that the count of the crayon box you buy matters almost as much as the brand.
I think it’s safe to say that we all know that teachers prefer Crayola brand crayons for the pure fact that they color better and are better quality.
But did you also know that teachers prefer the 16 count over the 24 count of Crayola crayons? If you said no, I didn’t either.
After all, the 24 count of crayons are typically cheaper because they tend to go on sale at retail stores for around $0.50 a box. While the 16 count is harder to find and is more expensive (around $2.99 a box).
Well, this teacher explains that especially in grades Pre-school to 1st grade, the 16 count box gives kids the exact colors they need for lessons which includes just 1 primary color.
She uses the example that if she asks the kids to color something blue, the 24 count box has about 4 different options that look blue.
However, when a child begins coloring, they quickly notice that only one of those colors is actually blue and one is actually purple when colored.
What?! My mind is BLOWN. I never noticed this before!
So, when you get the 16 count of crayons you are helping teachers get through their lesson plans without having frustrated children who can’t seem to find the right color.
This teacher even mentions that when kids get frustrated, she’s pretty much lost their attention because they are so focused on the color of their crayon.
Moral of the story – grab the 16 Count Crayola Crayons or you can get a Massive Box of Classic Crayola Crayons and in return, you’ll be helping your child and teacher!
In my 4K class I ask for the 24 because as far as I am aware that is the only pack that has all the colors I want the children to learn. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Black, Brown, White, Gray, Apricot)
I take them out and put those colors in baskets on the table for the children to share during group and center time. I then send the rest of the crayons home for the children to enjoy.
Question is does anyone know do all the above colors come in the 16 pack?
That is a good question, Laura! I would contact Crayola and ask them–I bet they would have an answer for you!
I know this is old but yes! The 24 count has all the colors the 16 count has, just 8 extra. I take the extras out at home and only send the requested 16 in the 24 count box. Win-win for everyone.
That’s a good idea!
Haha! This is spot on. In my kindergarten class, everyone knows to look for the “real true RED!”
LOL!
I taught PreK for years. I am so happy to see your advice here. To begin every semester, we would fill our pencil boxes with just the basic colors, including pink, black, white and gray. The color word chart was on the wall near our small group table. It always helped with word recognition.
The rest of the colors from the box went in the sharing tub to put on the art shelf.
Fours and Fives get so frustrated when the color looks different from what they think it should be!
Besides the time it takes to search through all the colors!
Letting them choose their own color is great for art activities but I think what they’re talking about here is when worksheets are coded so that the correct answer will be a particular color. Adds some interest for the student and involves more thought PLUS easy for the teacher to check!
Yes!
Why not let the children use there imagination and chose their own colour
I bought my students the 24 pack on sale. Pulled out the primary colors for their pencil pouch and sent the rest home with them.
Aw, that was kind of you!
I believe grade level should be taken into consideration. In first grade, the way we help alleviate that frustration is to actually have them match the color of the crayon to the color word on our wall, or try and read the color on the crayon. Once they have done it a few times, it helps with knowing color words quickly, as well as doesn’t take up too much time. We also do a lot of writing and illustrating, so having multiple options for colors (24 pack) is actually great for them to illustrate. I can see where in Pre-K or maybe kindergarten, teachers would prefer the 16 pack.
Hi, Amanda! All very good points!
John Galt, while that seems like an easy solution you then have the issue of “loose” crayons moving all around in the box which can be distracting and make it more difficult to put crayons away because they are leaning over. Also there are many children who would get very upset about some of their crayons being “taken away”.
I don’t care what brand teachers want or how many. I buy what I can afford and I write my kids name on every single crayon. I do not buy for others to use I have a big problem with all of a sudden we have to share school supplies that we bought. And if everyone has the same supplies there is no reason to dole my kids stuff out to everyone else
I meant remove 8.
So…why not buy the 24 count and remove 6 crayons???