Crayola Colors of the World Crayons – Embracing Skin Tones

Six years ago, our family dynamics changed. Not only did we bring a second foster child into our home… but the little 19 month old that came in our home that day brought “difference” into our home. We had adopted both of our boys when they were newborns. They are both caucasian, just like my husband and I. At times, we had people actually use the term, “Can’t deny that one!” when talking to my husband about my oldest son. No one thinks any differently when the home all looks the same. They assume those children are biological. It wasn’t until six years ago that we saw the different looks in people’s eyes.

My daughter embraing her skin tone with Crayola Colors of the World Crayons

Six years ago, our now seven and a half year old came into our home. She is part Guatemalan and part Salvadorian. She looks different on the outside. Where my hair is blonde and my eyes are hazel… her hair is almost black and her eyes are a dark brown. I have pretty pale skin, she has beautiful medium brown skin. It was after we had her in our family that we started having strangers asking us if we adopted her. Most of the time, they were blown away when I told them ALL THREE of our kids were adopted. They would ask what country we adopted her from and that would shock them too, America… right here in good ole North Carolina… in our very hometown. Sure, her nationality is Guatemalan and Salvadorian but she is FROM here! 

Thankfully, I am a pretty open book. I am not one to get offended by people pointing out that my children are adopted. I get to share some awesome things that happened for them to be part of our family. So often, adoption gets looked at as a bad thing but it is really an awesome thing to take part in! I love all three of my kids beyond what they can imagine. 

Fifteen months ago, our family dynamics changed again. We added even more “differences” into our family. We had a three week old African American baby placed in our care. He stayed with us for 13 months. I can not even begin to tell you the love we have for this little fellow. He is a pretty awesome dude who was loved by everyone who was around him for more than a minute. He has since gone to live with a family member. Were we any less ready to take him in to raise him for life based on his skin color? Absolutely not! We actually tried our best to adopt him but the courts chose otherwise. 

Our family had a lot of “color” with multiple skin tones. With a variety of brown, blonde, and black hair… blue, green, hazel, and brown eyes… ivory, almond, light brown and dark brown skin colors. The questions when out in public increased… along with my daughter’s awareness of her differences. 

She would often draw (still does) for fun but also as her own therapy. When she is sad, she draws pictures of what she is sad about. When she is happy, she draws pictures of what makes her happy. Most children do. She has complained of one big problem over the last year. She doesn’t like that she can’t actually color our family with accurate colors. That was important to her. She has, like me, fallen in love with our differences. She tells us all the time that she loves her skin color. I LOVE that! When Crayola reached out to me to tell me about the Colors of the World crayons, my heart literally fluttered. How exciting. 

I told my daughter about the new crayons they had come out with and she, too, was super excited. Smiling from ear to ear, she said, “I can draw our family now!!!” 

Colors of the World Crayons with 24 Skin Tones

Crayola has always been a brand that parents and teachers trust and love. Today, Crayola has gone a step above with making sure that children from all around the world can draw and color pictures to look just like them. Colors of the World crayon’s come in packs of 24 and 36. The packs have a variety of skin tone colors that cover 24 skin tones of many different nationalities. 

Difference between the 24 and 32 count Colors of the World Packs

What is the difference in the 24 count and 32 count packs of Colors of the World crayons? Both sets have the NEW skin tones (24 crayons) but the 32 count pack contains 8 basic eye and hair color crayons. 

Coloring Book and AWESOME App

You can also find a coloring book with coloring pages that feature children from around the world for your child to color. Crayola also has a special Colors of the World app that is available on both Google Play and the App Store. It is called Crayola Color Camera. In the app, you can take your pictures and turn them into coloring pages for your child for free! Make sure you check it out. If your child is like mine, they will most definitely LOVE it! Getting to color themselves with their very own skin tones helps children embrace their skin color!