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.

Duct Tape Painting

   
   This is one of my favorite projects, even my husband said it turned out pretty cool! It's especially great for the little one's.  My little guy, Eli, just loves painting, so when I decided to do this project I knew he would be thrilled.

Materials:

• 4 canvases of equal size
• any kind of paint ( for kids I always suggest any WASHABLE paint.)
• duct tape (or painter's tape if you'd rather)
• a paintbrush

   Start by grabbing your canvases. Put them side by side on a flat surface so you can begin the taping process. You can cut the tape to make the wording bubblier, or you can do what I did and just use the block lettering look.
    Decide on what word you want to use. I used the word 'LOVE'.  It's pretty universal and great as a gift later on. Ok, now grab your duct tape....Yea, duct tape! I find it's just as good as painter's tape if you aren't looking for perfect lines.  If you have painter's tape and want straighter lines, stick to that.  Which ever one you use, just make sure to really stick it down onto the canvas-give it a few good pats to make sure it's not going anywhere.   
   Go ahead and put the tape where you don't want paint to go. It's simple,  just use the tape to make that letter. You can paint them all at once or one at a time, makes no difference in the end. I put them on a low coffee table I keep in the garage just for painting and crafting on so I didn't use a drop cloth, but you might want to.
  Now let your little one go wild. Don't worry about the paint glooping or sticking to the tape, it will dry eventually.