It was fairly easy: melt the wax base, add color and scent, put a wick into a container and then pour. That's simplifying it a bit, but that's basically all there is to it. I wanted to get the process down so my daughter's and son could make candles as gifts or as a Y Guides craft.
Food coloring won't work as it doesn't mix with the wax so I'd gotten some sprinkle dyes that were easy to add into small batches of melted wax. I made a layered candle in just a few minutes by sticking it in the freezer while I mixed up the next color. I also got some dried flowers I thought would look nice floating in the candles.
Tonight, while my children ate their dinner, I lit some of the candles and told them they were having a candlelight dinner. My daughter was a bit afraid at first, which is a common reaction from her. If there is something that could hurt her in any way, she's very cautious.
My son was interested in the candle wax as it was melting and asked about the flame and why one was higher than another. We talked about wicks and how a burning candle was a very interesting thing because solid wax doesn't burn, nor does liquid wax and it was the capillary action of the wick that pulled the liquid wax upwards and then with the heat of the existing flame, the wax turns into a gas, which only then will burn. It's a self-perpetuating cycle that is started when the flame is initially lit.
I'm not sure my son was all that interested in the scientific explanation of how a candle works, but he was interested in the flame. I came back later to find him having burned tiny pieces of the paper he was writing on that he'd stuck on a tine of his fork.
I could tell he was interested in the fire and wanted to experiment so I talked to him about burning things and how a fire could get out of control quickly. We talked about what would and wouldn't burn. I put the candle on a metal tray and got him a kebab skewer. I told him to burn small pieces of the paper because if he put the whole sheet against the flame, it could all ignite, start to burn and then he'd have a proper fire on his hands—literally—and he could get burned and things around him could also be lit if he were to drop the lit paper.
I don't think he was thinking of any of that but having him think about implications before he tried something without thinking it through was my goal. He had burned the end of my pen he told me sheepishly.
While I cleaned up, he tinkered around with the fire, cleaning up ashes with a very wet cloth. The sizzling of the paper as it went out scared him and the task of cleaning up messy ashes was more of an incentive to stop than anything else. Hopefully, he learned something about fire and about the potential dangers of playing with it by being given the chance to experiment in a safe environment.
I remember playing with fire in the fireplace at home when I was a child. Fire is magical in its own way. It's also dangerous. It only took a few times getting singed to give me a healthy fear of fire.
The Big Boy Update: My son was picked up from school by Mimi today. When they got home he asked her if she wanted to continue watching Star Wars: A New Hope. They watched a bit more of the movie before she had to go. He's really liking watching a movie with her.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: I don't know how well my daughter could see the candles at her dinner place tonight, but she was able to find them by holding her hand up higher and feeling for the heat. Initially, she was scared, but she experimented and figured out she could hold her hand over the flame high up but it was too hot lower down. A year ago, she would have been far too afraid to even get near the fire.
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