Worth the Splurge: Plastic Wheels

plastic wheels by kelvin educationalYou’ve seen them in various projects that roll, toddle, and race. For anything ambulant, we highly recommend these fantastic plastic wheels, sold by Kelvin Educational. This post also includes instructions on how to make an official Pop Goes the Page wheel assembly for all your vehicular needs!

We discovered the 1-3/8″ diameter wheels while designing an event for Richard Scarry’s classic book, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. The event was my son’s idea. He was 6 at the time, and told me the library needed to do “a program about crazy cars you can make.” Crazy cars we DID make, with some science thrown in to boot (details here).

cars and trucks montageTo make a wheel assembly, tape two, 4″ plastic straws to the bottom of a box. Then thread two, 6″ wooden rod “axles” through the straws. We used BBQ skewers cut down to the proper size with pruning shears (and don’t forget to cut off the pointy end of the skewer!). Here’s what a finished wheel assembly looks like:

axles and wheelsThe wheels can be purchased from Kelvin Educational. Black wheels are product #990168 ($10 for 100); and color wheels are #990169 ($11 for 100). Warning! Sometimes, the wheels slide off the ends of the skewers. To remedy that, we hot glue foam beads to the outsides of the wheels. But Kelvin Education DOES sell the same wheels, same price, with “end caps.” So we recommend going with those (black #990170; color #990171).

In terms of sturdiness and versatility, these wheels are definitely worth the splurge! Here are some story time projects we’ve created with them…


pigs on paradePig parade floats (marching band optional)


skunk on the street 3Hitting the streets with your pet skunk


red-wagon cropped

A super sweet tissue box red wagon


go with the floeAn ice floe for a geographically challenged polar bear and penguin family


monster-bike croppedA bicycle for a well-meaning monster


bon-appetit

A crêpe cart with all the trimmings, including a menu that allows you to order en français!


If these plastic wheels won’t work for you, alternatives include wooden wheels (a regularly stocked item at Michael’s Craft store), wooden spools, sized-down toilet paper or paper towel rolls attached to the bottom of the box, or poster board/card stock wheels glued to the sides of the box (like this awesome car, or this charming train).

Worth the Splurge II

gallon glue pumpWe’ve all been through the arduous task known as “the refilling of the squeeze glue bottles.” Drips. Spurts. Clogged funnels. Gloppy snakes of glue that run over your hand and pool onto the tabletop.

I endured this for years. Oh yes, I was well aware that glue pumps existed, but I couldn’t bring my stubborn self to pony up and buy one. Then one day, I finally caved. I’m glad I did. This pump is awesome! It slides into a gallon glue container, neatly deposits the glue right into the bottles, and it even has a little cap that covers the pump opening to prevent drips. It’s also gigantic, so you feel very mighty and powerful as you sit pumping glue.

I bought this glue pump online for $19.99 at Discount School Supply. I’m sure my splurge has saved me much time and frustration (not to mention wasted glue). I heart my gallon glue pump!