I (Mike/Dada) came up with this craft when I was five years old. I knew about the tooth fairy, and I really liked the idea. Unfortunately, none of my teeth were anywhere close to loose, despite my attempts to wiggle them out of my jaw. So, I decided to create a fake tooth. I knew about fake teeth from my grandfather, who would terrorize me and my little sister by pulling his dentures out. He would make awful sounds and frightful grimaces during his full mouth extraction. I still have nightmares.
Anyway, I figured that a white crayon would make a good substance for making a false tooth. I needed a way to carve it into a tooth, but my mom was reluctant to hand over the exacto-knife. I ended up using a pin to carve it, which worked remarkably well. When doing this craft with the kids today, we used the same strategy.
Emma and Johnny did really well with the pins, and it let them practice their fine motor skills. I probably wouldn’t recommend doing this with kids much younger than Johnny.
You can polish the tooth by rubbing it on paper. The kids were very proud of their creation!
After we completed this craft, Emma asked “Ummm… Why did we do this?”
Although my fake tooth did not fool my tooth fairy, I eventually lost all my baby teeth in quick succession due to my zealous intervention. My tooth fairy left me coins from foreign countries. I think Emma and Johnny’s tooth fairy, who will probably be fooled tonight, will do the same.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
This is a great story!
Love it!
I noticed the kids went to bed especially early last night…
Emma was so pleased with the coin the Tooth Fairy left behind that she says she wants to make another tooth tonight!
Great story! So cute :) I never would have thought of this either!
This post made me laugh. I think I’ll try making crayon teeth with JC some day!
What a fun idea to create a fake tooth. The kids look very happy with their “useless” creations.
Mike, I believe I still have the crayon tooth you made as a kid. Didn’t you even add a little touch of red at the root to make it look more realistic?! It’s great that my grandkiddies enjoy the same things you did. LOVE the pictures of them concentrating on their craft.
That is so cool. LOL at Emma wondering why you made fake teeth.
I never thought of making a fake tooth for the tooth fairy to find. I love that the tooth fairy will be fooled!
LOL! Love it that the tooth fairy “will probably be fooled tonight.”
What a fun story. One of my boys is going to be losing his first tooth soon…….
LOL. Too funny. Great idea!
Smart Emma, got used to projects with a purpose. ;)
I see you were born with creative buds.
If mom only knew how much needed the exacto was, as you were planning to explain your discovery on your blog one day.
I always drew on walls, driving my mom crazy.
How could she know that among other things I’d grow up to be a muralist? Ha!
Emma seems to be heading for an analyst of a sort, rather than a dentist… :)
Thanx for sharing!