Fun Ways to Take Learning Outside with Sidewalk Chalk

Are you looking for fun ideas to try this summer with your stash of sidewalk chalk? Side walk chalk activities are a great way to keep the kids entertained outside, while encouraging development in fine motor skills and even math or phonics practice. Here are some creative ideas to use in the summer months with your kids.

 

Sidewalk chalk ideas

Making sidewalk art is a great outdoor activity. But if you’re a bit uninspired with how you can use sidewalk chalk to keep your kids engaged and learning, read on.

What can you do with sidewalk chalk?

Letter recognition

Your younger kids can practice letter recognition with sidewalk chalk. Go ahead and draw out capital and lowercase letters and see if they can match them by drawing a straight line with chalk. Or, trace their name over it in multiple colors. See if your little learners can write out the whole alphabet with sidewalk chalk.

Spelling Words

For your kids who are already reading, you can find creative ways to practice spelling words or reviewing word families. Draw a ladder on the ground and have them write a new word on each rung of the ladder for a specific word family. So, for example, if your word family ends in -at, then they could write these words on the ladder rungs: cat, mat, bat, fat.

Math Fact Families

Another fun activity with sidewalk chalk is to write out fact families. Your older kids can draw triangles with the chalk and on each point of the triangle, write one of the numbers from that fact family. Some kids might run away from a math review worksheet in the summer, but if you can make a fun game out of it with chalk, your kids are more likely to participate. Little do they know that they’re not only having fun with chalk, but reviewing their math facts as well.

Sidewalk Chalk Games

What if you want some more active fun with sidewalk chalk? Here are some great ideas.

Draw a road or path on the driveway with the sidewalk chalk, or have your child do this, and then encourage them to bring their toy cars outside to drive on that chalk road. They can add buildings and houses, bridges and landforms to the pavement with the chalk. This is so much fun for kids that they’ll be outside for hours with their very own toy car road.

You could even draw a tic tac toe board with sidewalk chalk and use a bean bag to mark the spots. Who remember hopscotch? Grab some chalk and create a fun hopscotch board on the sidewalk. Kids can practice skip counting while playing hopscotch.

Another fun way to use sidewalk chalk is to make a twister board or even a driveway shape maze. If your space is large enough, consider drawing a life-sized Chutes and Ladders board on your driveway! Not only will your kids get to practice counting, but your kinesthetic learners will have a blast moving from space to space on the game board. There are so many chalk ideas for driveways, it could be an all-day thing.

Summer Sidewalk Chalk Ideas

You’ll love these 15 additional summer sidewalk chalk ideas, which includes making a photo backdrop or even using chalk for an anatomy lesson outside on a sunny day.

How do you make chalk more vibrant?

Sometimes you just want the chalk to be more vibrant on the pavement. There’s an easy way to do this. Just dip the tip of the chalk into water and start drawing. The water will activate the pigment in the chalk and help it to be brighter.

Once you see the difference between wet chalk and dry chalk, you probably won’t want to keep using it dry! Just keep dipping the tip as you use it so that the tip is always wet.

How do you make chalk stay on concrete?

If you want to preserve your chalk drawing, there’s an easy way to do this. Just spray a thin layer of aerosol hairspray over the concrete. But don’t get too close when you spray onto the chalk – you’ll want to spray it from at least 10 inches away. If you want a more professional seal, then you can purchase permanent fixative to preserve your chalk drawing.

How long does chalk last on concrete?

If you don’t do anything to preserve the drawings, and it doesn’t rain in the meantime, your chalk will stay on concrete for about 5-10 days. Even though the quality of the sidewalk art might deteriorate over time, if it doesn’t meet any rainy days, it can even last for up to a month.

Is liquid chalk permanent?

Yes, liquid chalk can be permanent, depending on the surface that you are using it on. So for a porous surface the liquid chalk would penetrate and become permanent. If your driveway or sidewalk is newly poured, there would be open pores that would permanently stain with your liquid chalk.

Usually chalkboard paint is not intended for exterior use, so read labels carefully before applying to your sidewalk or pavement.

Can you use regular chalk on sidewalk?

Regular classroom chalk is made from calcium carbonate, which is a form of limestone. Sidewalk chalk is made from the mineral gypsum. But even though they may be made from different materials, you still can use regular chalk on a sidewalk.

The main issue to consider is the size and durability of the chalk. Regular classroom chalk is of course skinnier and more brittle. It may not stand up to use on a rough surface like a pavement or driveway. The typical sidewalk chalk is thicker and sturdier, making it easier for little hands to grasp. It usually lasts longer as well.

Is sidewalk chalk considered graffiti?

Many states and counties do have laws regarding the use of sidewalk art on public walkways. In many places it is considered graffiti. So the bottom line is that it’s a good idea to check with your local ordinances before using your favorite sidewalk chalk ideas in a public place. Of course, you are free to do what you like on your own property.

Side Walk Chalk Ideas

If you’re looking for the best ideas for kids of all ages, you’ll love these inspirations below. Grab the chalk and start creating!

Masking Tape and Chalk Mural

Masking Tape and Chalk Mural Craft: Here’s a great way to use chalk on a vertical surface, like a wood fence. Even your younger kids can get into this fun activity as long as you apply the masking tape for them. All they have to do is use different colors of chalk to color in the simple shapes.

Sidewalk Chalk Photo Shoot

Sidewalk Chalk Photo Shoot: Creating backdrops for your kids is a great way to spend an afternoon. They can draw the backgrounds themselves, or you can draw inspiration from these ideas and draw it for them. Just have your kids lie flat and see if you can get a great angle for the photo from above them for the best finished product.

Exploding Sidewalk Chalk

Exploding Sidewalk Chalk Experiment: Everyone knows that vinegar and baking soda chemically react and produce fun results. But have you ever tried this chemical reaction while using sidewalk chalk? Get ready for a fun STEM activity in the summer.

DIY Sidewalk Chalk

3 Ingredient DIY Sidewalk Chalk: Make your own easy sidewalk chalk with just three ingredients. Only your imagination is the limit.

DIY Magic Sidewalk Chalk Paint Recipe

DIY Magic Sidewalk Chalk Paint Recipe: Want to make your own sidewalk chalk? Here’s a great recipe to try that’s both non-toxic and washable.

In Conclusion

Sidewalk chalk can be a fun activity for kids of all ages. It’s not too messy, and can provide hours of fun in your own driveway. It’s a great way to to get the kids off screens and doing something active.