DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint

...And we're back!

 

It's been a looooooooooooong time since I last posted, but I'm so glad to be back to blogging!  I've saved up lots of great ideas and will hopefully, *fingers crossed*, be able to share one of them with you daily.

 

Yesterday, between our town's Fourth of July parade and the late-evening fireworks, my kids seemed to be just wandering around, looking for something to get into do.  I had seen recipes for homemade sidewalk chalk around the web, but hadn't had a chance to whip some up.  So I thought this would be the perfect opportunity, especially on a bright and sunny day!

 

The surprising part was that it was so easy and simple to make.  Don't you love recipes like that?!  Two ingredients + food color = BAM!  You're done!  Homemade sidewalk chalk paint!

 

 

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

• 2 T. corn starch
• 4 T. water
• food coloring

Directions

• Mix corn starch and water together in a muffin tin. (You could also use small bowls or whatever you have on hand.)
• Add food coloring to each "cup" in the muffin tin.
• Mixing different food colors is also a great opportunity for a lesson in color mixing.  We mixed: red + yellow = orange and red + blue = purple.

*Keep in mind that for younger kids (babies, toddlers, preschoolers), this paint is technically edible.  I'm thinking that you'll probably get a pretty disgusted look if your little one tries it though!  Please make sure to always supervise your child with activities like this.

 



Sweet Pea (my 7 year old) went straight to work, planning and painting our sidewalk.  Since it was July 4th, she decided to paint fireworks.  She noticed right away that as she painted and the paint dried, it changed to a lighter shade.  She thought it was pretty cool to watch the paint change right before her eyes!

 Pretty cool, huh?

 

 

Shortly after, Tough Guy (my 13 year old) came out to paint a message to our neighbors:

Happy 4th of July!

 

 

Yes, even the middle schooler wanted to participate.  They loved this, and it was so quick, easy and cheap to throw together.  We used chunky paint brushes for most, but Sweet Pea wanted a thinner brush for some of her details.  Painting the sidewalk "canvas" is definitely a first for us, but I'm sure we'll be doing it again and again this summer!

 

The sidewalk chalk paint dries like regular sidewalk chalk, and will wash off with rain or water.  Give it a try - your kids will love it!

 

See ya tomorrow!

 



My Many Colored Days & Color Review

How do you feel today? 

 

We had a great day in preschool on Monday, and we read about how feelings are associated with colors in the Dr. Seuss book:

"On bright red days

how good it feels

to be a horse

and kick my heels!"

 

As we read through this book, we reviewed our colors, and talked about feelings as well.  It made me so happy that each child felt "fine", "good" or "happy"!  They used positive and descriptive words to express their feelings, and then assigned them a color.  I suspect most of them chose their favorite color to correspond with their happiness, which makes perfect sense.  Thinking of and seeing my favorite color makes me happy too!

 

At our science center, we matched color words to their dots...

 

and mixed primary paint colors to get the secondary colors.  I didn't use the "primary" and "secondary" terminology with the kids, because they are just learning that they can mix certain colors to achieve a completely different color.  It's pretty amazing to them!

 

At the end of class, we went over to the block room to read:



Again, we reviewed colors and which primary colors are used to mix secondary colors.  Most of the kids have a pretty good knowledge base of their colors. It's always fun to have a review day though! We reviewed the rainbow colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and other colors - brown, black, gray, pink and white.

 

Here are some other websites you can visit for games and activities:

Primary Games

File Folder Fun

Teach Preschool

Kinder Web Games

Preschool Color Game



Color Clip Match

As part of our color review, I made this color clip match game for the kids.  This not only reinforces color recognition, but also works those fine motor muscles in their hands.

 

I found a cute crayon gift box in the dollar section at Target (Don't you love that part of the store?!), and cut it apart.  Then I punched holes down the side, and attached the little punched-out circles to mini clothespins.

I gave the matching board to students individually, mixed up the mini clothespins, and called out a color one at a time.  The kiddos picked up the correct pin, then attached it to the corresponding color on the board.  

 

If your child needs extra practice with colors, there are many different activities you can do!  Check out the list below.

 

• Focus on 1 color at a time, or focus on the color that your child needs help identifying. 
• Ask your child to name his/her favorite color, then have him/her find 3-5 objects of that color around the house.
• Color with your child, because one of the best ways they learn is by example.  Say "I'm going to color the flower purple."  Then point out a purple crayon or marker. Have your child say which color he/she is going to use, and then have him/her point it out for you.
• Check out some online color games at Gamequarium Junior, PBS Kids, and Disney Junior.
• Take a trip to Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-Mart, and grab a few paint chip samples. They're free, and you can easily make matching games with them. Have fun!