This week's Toddler Series theme is Chalk! We love chalk and bring it to the park all the time. It's always fun to play with and we never run out of ideas on how to use chalk creatively!
We have three types of chalk: Crayola Sidewalk Chalk
, homemade chalk (which is bigger) and egg-shaped chalk. We are often approached by other kids at the park to use our chalk and I'm noticing that a lot of the younger kids like to use the egg-shaped chalk. It's likely that they are just easier to hold and they are great for fine motor skill practice, because it uses the same grip as a pencil! However, it's all a matter of preference and many of the kids just go for the color they want to use.
, homemade chalk (which is bigger) and egg-shaped chalk. We are often approached by other kids at the park to use our chalk and I'm noticing that a lot of the younger kids like to use the egg-shaped chalk. It's likely that they are just easier to hold and they are great for fine motor skill practice, because it uses the same grip as a pencil! However, it's all a matter of preference and many of the kids just go for the color they want to use.
There are two activities that Munchkin and Bean like best: creating shape patterns and playing hopscotch. For the shapes we will sometimes bring out blocks and create shape matching games. But lately they prefer to just draw the shapes.
Bean and Munchkin work well together for this activity. Bean usually draws the shape and Munchkin colors it in.
The way they match the shapes is by taking turns shouting out a shape name and then running to stand on it (hence all the scuff marks). We always make sure to draw two of every shape, that way they can make a correct pair, as they will both need to be standing on the shape. It's a super fun game and they love it!
And sometimes they get carried away making a shape pattern. :)
We only started to play hopscotch a few weeks ago, but they LOVE it! Not only is it a great way to work on gross motor skills (hopping and jumping, while staying balanced!), but it's also a fun way to work on number recognition and counting skills. They love helping me draw the squares and writing in the numbers, which is great for fine motor development! We usually draw up several hopscotch patterns (1-10 and 1-20) so they do not always have to take turns playing. While they hop and jump along, they call out the number they land on. Needless to say, chalk can be super fun for active gross motor play!
Chalk activities for toddlers is not limited to just gross motor play though. We also love using chalk to draw! Munchkin uses chalk to draw roads for his cars and trucks to drive on.
And Bean likes to draw animals and landscapes!
We also use the side of our house as a chalk board! Isn't Bean's giraffe super cute?
Be sure to check out Suzy Homeschooler's Letter Recognition and Phonics with Chalk toddler activity!
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