How to use wax crayons to work with kids

Wax crayon is the most effective tool for preparing a child’s hand for school and for psychological drawing of his emotional states. Given the fact that at the moment I am leading groups for the training of isotherapists, of course I write for my colleagues. So, wax is such a material that performs two functions: you can write with it and you can write and draw on wax. No other natural material has this property.
1. The first and basic exercise when a psychologist works with wax crayons is to teach a child to feel the material. Give a piece of colored wax to the child’s hand and let him describe how it feels to you. Compare a wax crayon to a stone. Ask your child to compare the two materials. Give it a sniff, because high-quality wax crayon smells like honey. Let him imagine how the wax was created by the bees so that later such a wonderful chalk for drawing would turn out. Make up a story on the topic “How this crayon found me.”
2. The second step is to teach the child how to manage the chalk. And it’s easy to do this by drawing shapes. Forms are especially closely related to our feelings. So R. Steiner wrote that only the interweaving of feelings gives a person impressions. And the shape itself, the structure of lines, color and sensations from drawing contribute to the development of the emotional sphere of the child, his self-perception. How to start drawing shapes with crayons:
– lines from the center to the edge of the sheet;
– from bottom to top from one point and from different points;
– from top to bottom from one point and from different points;
– thin and thick lines;
– spirals;
– circles and ovals;
– different figures depicted in a circle (mandalas)
3. Use a different texture of paper, this gives the child new tactile sensations and control of a new space, develops the adaptive abilities of the psyche. What types of paper can be used:
– paper with roughness;
– newsprint (to control emotions, because through the control of the hand we control ourselves);
– colored paper, which is pasted one on top of the other in different color options like a collage (in order to create a single image on a sheet of paper using crayons);
– you can draw on fine sandpaper, while creating a specific effect.
4. Also, it is very good to work with liquid wax or hot wax, of course, just not with preschool children. You can warm the wax with an iron, a hot hair dryer, or a candle. More information about this type of wax work can be found by reading about the type of painting as encaustic.
5. You can use watercolor and salt when drawing with wax. Detailed description and stages of work: First, an adult draws a drawing with a candle in the center of the sheet – the child paints it with watercolors (if the drawing is complex, it is better to draw with wax and paint over with watercolors – in parts). Then the background is filled in (depending on the age and skills of the child, you can simplify or complicate the task – you can paint over the image with one color. You can use different colors – let the watercolor spread. Mixing, there will be an interesting effect, you can also paint the background with different colors, having previously “outlined some part of the background with wax. It is necessary to apply one color, then again draw a line with a candle – apply another color, etc. (for older children, you can completely apply the entire drawing with a candle, then paint with watercolors. But the child must carefully monitor where the drawing is located (if he draws in different colors, if in one color, then this is not important). You need to apply the paint quite quickly so that the drawing remains raw, then sprinkle the finished, UNDRY DRAWING with salt. Salt can be shaken off after drying (whitened dots will remain in its place), or you can leave it – then the drawing will acquire a velvety structure.
6. When working with wax, it is possible to focus more on the process than on the result. Use high-quality materials and bright colors, this makes it possible to penetrate even deeper into the unconscious depths of our healing “I”.

Nazarevich Victoria