Individually Labeled Crayons

I got tired of broken crayons strewn throughout the house and finally figured out something to do about it. The girls already have their own labeled water cups for their exclusive use, and I decided to extend the idea to crayons. Fortunately Glitter has recently learned how to recognize her name, or at least distinguish hers from Sparkle's.

I got out two fresh boxes of washable Crayola crayons and individually labeled eight crayons from each with their names. For a while I considered getting kid name stickers to use. However, $15 for 100 was more than I wanted to pay. So, I used regular paper and clear packing tape. Sparkle wrote her own name and I wrote Glitter's. Then we went through the colored pencils and repeated the process. Finally, each girl got a labeled pencil box to hold it all.

I explained to both girls that they were to use *only* their personal colors and not to touch each others. Then I dumped all the pencils and crayons together and had them sort them out into their individual boxes to ensure that they could tell whose was whose.

We're on day three of the system, and so far both girls seem to accept the system and I haven't found any crayons on the floor. I hope that the results last.

A few years ago I would have thought individually labeling crayons was insane. I still think it's a little insane, but if it works, I don't care.