Very Appeeling

If you follow CJ's blog, then you already know about this story. (This is what happens when there are technical difficulties at home, and someone is borrowing your laptop. Swiper, no swiping posts! Love you, CJ!)

So, CJ's Vacation Bible School group--the big kids--had a missions rotation in with their morning schedule. The entire VBS collected school supplies to pass along to children in the Richmond area who cannot afford their own. (Read friend Cassie's post to learn more about one of these beneficiaries--the Free Market.) CJ's group had the task of cleaning up and re-packaging the donated, used supplies into something usable and wonderful.

We have had an old gallon container filled with broken crayons for a number of years now. At one point, a teacher of CJ's had a resource that would take the crayons if they were peeled of their labels. We tried to accomplish that, but it proved monotonously difficult for a second grader and her mom! So, we stowed them on the craft shelf.

When I heard about the missions focus, I thought about those crayons, and suggested to CJ that she bring them in and propose to her group that they melt down the crayons and make new ones out of them.

Ecstatically, she shared the idea with the group with the start of the VBS week. By the end of the week, she had brought home all the broken crayons collected that week.

Oh! A life lesson I hate to admit occurs more often than seems fair--If you suggest it, it is yours!

But, CJ remained encouraged, peeling papers and separating all of the crayons into color groups. I was encouraged, too. We will do this!

If you read her post on this, you know she suffered an "injury" caused by overpeeling. "Why are these labels so hard to get off?" she asked repeatedly. Two reasons, I said. One, so that kids will know what color they are coloring with. Second, and most important, so that kids will know who made the crayons. (True, yes?)

Into the oven...Melting at 200 degrees for 20 minutes or so.

Cooling down.

Good enough to eat? Don't look for peanut butter in there!

36 fabulous colors!

Boxed and ready for someone special!

And I'm proud of my girl for hanging in there.