The Web Colours of a Box of Crayons

=== by Bob Sutherland ===

Here is a poem I was taught in kindergarten for arranging the crayons in my crayon box.

Red and Orange
Green and Blue
Shining Yellow
Purple too
Black and Brown.

Where is Orange and Brown?

The standard box of crayons that pupils use in kindergarten and the primary grades includes the colours red, orange, green, blue, yellow, purple, black and brown. These are the basic eight colours used in schools. A box of pencil crayons, markers, paint sets and construction paper all come in these eight colours. Sometimes there may be more colours added such as pink, gold, grey, silver, white, maroon and various shades of blue but that depends on the school budget, the child's stage of development and the crayon manufacturer.

As a school teacher I have always considered it a major flaw that orange and brown were never included in the original list of 16 standardized colours for the Internet. When creating educational websites for children we need to be able to use all eight colours found in a box of crayons. Here are some suggestions for orange and brown.