This post is part of a series where I’ll be sharing “bite-sized” ideas and activities for parents to try with their kids. I hope to offer easy, economical, educational, and engaging ideas you can feel good about your kids doing, while buying you some down time. This content may use referral links. Read my disclosure policy for more info.
There are so many things you can do with a few sticks of sidewalk chalk. You’ve probably seen different versions of this chalk art lately and there’s a good reason why! It’s fun and easy, the materials are simple, and the results are gratifying! Also, it’s a great way to strengthen those little hands if you’ve got a preschooler in the house. I’ll do a quick share on how to do this activity, and then I’ll list more easy and fun sidewalk chalk ideas below!
All you need is some painter’s tape and some sidewalk chalk. To set it up for young kids, tape down a large rectangular border. Lay a few long strips going across the rectangle as a starting point, then start tearing off smaller segments of tape to give your kids. Now they can tape down the lines themselves.
When I handed it to them, I also told them, “Use this to connect two pieces of tape. Make sure each end of your tape is touching another piece of blue tape.” I mean, you could go totally open-ended and just let them stick it wherever. I’m sure it would still look cool and be fun in the end. But if you’re going for the super geometric vibe, that specific instruction can help them make straight lines. Of course, if your kids are able , let them do all the taping themselves!
Next, let the kids color in each section. Encourage them to fill in all the spaces so that “there is no grey showing.” When they’re done, they can pull off the tape to reveal a cool creation! Tada! Take a photo and feel good about outside/art/fine motor skill/math time. Okay math might be a bit of a stretch, but if you throw in some conversation about triangles, quadrilaterals, and lines, then that’s definitely a hands-on elementary school geometry lesson right there!
I’ve seen kids create this art across several feet of fencing and also on driveways. You can encourage your kids to do different patterns in each segment (lines, dots, stripes, circles, concentric triangles, etc.), or just let them color it in to get a really vibrant result!
Tip: Check the weather forecast and wait for a day when there is no rain in the forecast for the next day or two, so you can enjoy the art longer!
Other ideas for sidewalk chalk fun:
- Make an obstacle course
- Set up hopscotch
- Set up two-square/hand soccer
- Walk to your friend’s house and leave a friendly greeting on their driveway (someone did that for us a few days ago and the kids were thrilled to receive it!)
- Write friendly messages on the sidewalk for neighbors going on walks to read.
Have other ideas? Share them below!
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