Making candles: wax, wicks and drops
A candle is made of wax with a string called a wick in the middle. When a grown-up lights the wick, the wax melts a little and burns slowly. Candle makers heat the wax until it melts, add a few drops of colour, and stir it. Children never heat wax and never light a candle alone: this is always a job for a grown-up. In instructions we use imperatives, verbs that start the sentence: stir, squeeze, press, heat. We also say how much we need: 200 grams of wax, a litre of water, two spoons of sugar, a can of beans, a package of pasta. Today we make a safe paper candle, with no fire at all.
| Container or measure | Example |
|---|---|
| grams (g) | 200 grams of wax |
| litre (l) | a litre of water |
| spoon | two spoons of sugar |
| can | a can of beans |
| package | a package of pasta |
A paper candle. First, roll a sheet of yellow paper into a tube. Next, squeeze three drops of glue along the edge. Then press the edge for ten seconds. After that, cut a small flame from orange paper. Finally, press the flame into the top of the tube.
What do you put in a candle?
I use 200 grams of wax for one candle and a string for the wick.
How do you make the wax soft?
I heat it slowly, and I stir it. It is hot, so children must never do this.
Paper candle workshop. The child follows the five steps with paper and glue (a grown-up helps with the scissors). After each step the child says what they did: I rolled the paper. I pressed the edge. Then the child gives the same instructions to the grown-up with First, Next, Then, After that and Finally.