Who doesn't love sidewalk chalk?!

    I don't care how old you are. Can anyone seriously hold a piece of sidewalk chalk in their hand and not smile? This is one of my favorite past times and I am sooooo lucky my son loves it, too. We could sit out there for hours drawing until we run out of space and have to venture into the cul-de sac...that has actually happened.

   I think it is so important for a child to learn while playing. I always try to think of fun ways to teach my little guy things without him knowing it. He is only two, so our 'learning' mainly consists of letters, colors, shapes, etc, but there is so much more you can teach a child with chalk. Math is a big one.  I remember doing my times tables on the driveway as a kid. And hop-scotch! That's a simple counting game and kids have loved it for centuries.

    One thing that bothers me, though, is how un-inventive adults have become when it comes to their 'chalking.' Come on. We can only draw a rainbow, or a smiley face so many times.  I am always amazed, and a little jealous, of a kid's imagination. I mean, who would think to draw a purple cupcake castle with icing slides and sprinkle trees? Not me!
   Think out of the box. Who cares if you mess up, it's going to wash away in the next few days! Think about drawing scenes, or repetitive patterns. If you have any kid of brick near your home you've hit the jackpot. Color each brick one color. Then another on top of that, then another, and another until you have a beautiful rainbow of colors that is so much fun to look at! (And much more interesting than those basic rainbows you learned to draw in first grade.) You can turn it into a game by asking each child to hop onto a certain color, or count the number of 'blue' bricks.

   Sometimes, though, it is nice to stick to the basics...but go a little bit further and expand upon the concept. Sure a heart is cute, but a multi-colored stripey heart is much cuter! Another simple way to improve upon your side-walk-chalking skills is to use shading. People don't realize that chalk is one of the easiest mediums to add shade to. Think of pastels and charcoal drawings, they are always meticulously shaded...and beautiful!  Use white or gray chalk and outline your object-it immediately jumps off the pavement!
   Another are holidays. Use the next upcoming holiday to decorate your home and to educate your children about the importance of each one. Explain certain colors, symbols and songs used during that holiday-illustrate them! The fourth of July is my favorite (if you couldn't tell :) ) Halloween is also a lot of fun. Draw candy corns on your side walk, ghosts on your driveway, witches on broomsticks on the street in front of your house!

    By far one of my favorite chalk ideas is the race track. I have a little boy, so anything that involves something with four wheels and going fast is going to keep his attention for quite some time. Use the chalk to draw roads, stop signs, buildings, forests, etc. Grab some cars from inside the house and let your child move them along the track, teaching him about the rules of the road.   My son loves to use his rideable cars to zoom along the track himself; this is great for when you have a play-date or any occassion when you have several kids over at once. They will love the 'traffic' they create and will be forced to share the track! Don't forget the most important rule of this activity:

It's ok if you get a little chalk on your bum :)

  

 

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