School is out for the summer. If you are like me, you are always trying to think of creative ways to keep your kids engaged all while being able to enjoy the beautiful summer weather. One of the things we love in our house is sidewalk chalk. Sidewalk chalk is amazing because kids of all ages can enjoy it, and there is truly no clean up. It’s a win-win! Chalk is great because it has so much potential to unleash kids’ creativity. Below are a list of four of our favorite activities.
Painting the Alphabet
This has been one of our kids’ favorites as they worked on letter recognition and writing of letters. Simply write out the alphabet and have your child paint/trace the letter with a paint brush and water. When we do it, we say each letter and letter sound. It’s just a fun way to “paint” but still learn at the same time.
Letter Matching
This is an activity designed to help kids to match their upper case letters to their lowercase letter partners. When we do it, we start with a small group of letters to match. I have found that it works out better that way because a huge group of letters can be overwhelming and then kids will lose interest.
Self Portrait
This one is a lot of fun. I have my child lay on the sidewalk as I trace around him/her. After I am done tracing, it is all up to the child to add details of themselves. The older they are, the more details they will draw. It is always fun to witness how kids see themselves.
Hopscotch
Everyone remembers the traditional game of hopscotch where you jump from number to number, changing the position of your feet. You could also use this as an activity to recognize numbers. Call out a certain number and have your child jump to that number. The possibilities are endless.
These are just a few ideas of ways to utilize sidewalk chalk. I have found that using chalk is one avenue to get kids out of the house and to use their creative juices. If you have any great things you do with sidewalk chalk, feel free to share in the comments below.
Happy Summer! Happy chalking!
