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Using Kwik Stix in the Classroom

Have you heard about Kwik Stix from The Pencil Grip? These are solid tempera paint sticks that dry super quickly and provide vibrant color! I have to admit that I was skeptical at first - my kids love painting at our 4-person easel and I didn't think the experience would be the same with paint stix. Well guess what, it isn't the same, but sometimes it's better!

Here's what I used my Kwik Stix for:

Before Christmas we wrote Thank You cards to our local police officers and to some people who donated items to our classroom. I wanted something more fun and brighter than crayons, but I didn't want to have to wait for paint to dry. I also didn't want to use markers because often the kids over-color with them and end up ripping the paper because it gets too wet. The Kwik Stix were amazing for cards! As you can see from this picture, the colors were vibrant and they didn't smear or bleed into each other like sometimes happens with water colors.

We also used them to paint our craft sticks to make these picture ornaments. They gave great coverage, so this didn't take but a few minutes, whereas getting out the tempera paint and cups, protecting the tables and then cleaning everything up would have taken twice as long! They washed off of my students' fingers easily too!

The absolute best part though, is that they literally dry in 90 seconds or less. So when a child flips the paper over, or puts their sleeve in it, there's no mess! It's also super easy to clean up - it wiped off my tables with a Clorox wipe and no elbow grease needed!

While I would never get rid of my liquid tempera paint or my easel, the ease of use of the Kwik Stix, the easy set-up and clean-up as well as the super quick drying time, make them a must-have addition to my classroom. Oh and in case you're wondering about how long they last,  we've used them on 40+ thank you cards, as well as our ornaments and during Center Time at Art Center a few times, and I am still on my original packs - in other words, they've lasted longer than I thought they would!

In fact, I think these are so great that I'm adding them to my wishlist that I'll be sending out to my parents in a few weeks when tax return season hit (tip: tax return season is the perfect time to hit up your parents for extras for the classroom-start making your list now!)

Want to try them for your classroom? Don't want to wait for a parent to donate them? Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win a free set!

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Disclosure: I received a free set of Kwik Stix to use in my classroom in order to share my own honest opinion of them. I was not compensated in any other way for this post.