Chalk It Up to End of Summer Outdoor Fun

Sidewalk chalk games are an easy, imaginative and active way to engage both kids (and adults) in outdoor play. Squeeze in some last-minute summer fun before the start of school with these activities on your sidewalk, driveway or playground. Here are a few ideas:

Ready, Set, Go…

Use chalk to draw the start and finish lines of a race. Then come up with different ways to get to the end like running, marching, galloping, using a bike or scooter, or jump-roping. Make sure the concrete or asphalt surface is smooth and safe. You can also use chalk to set boundaries like “Stop here” for young kids playing with ride-on toys. This gives them a little room to roam, while keeping them close to home.

Activity Course or Maze

Chalk is great way for creating an activity course. Draw a squiggly line for kids to follow, hash-marks for them to jump over, a box where they have to do three jumping jacks, and so on. Once you give them a few ideas for what to include in a course, kids can run with it and make their own. A chalk maze is also a fun for kids to navigate on foot, skates, or scooters.

Target Practice

Use chalk to draw a target on the ground and have kids try to hit it with bean bags, water squirters, Nerf balls and so on. Your target could be an X, a circle, or special shape.

Games

Chalk games like Pictionary or Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman or Dots make for outdoor fun, or try the classic games like hopscotch and four-square. Chalk is also handy for informal games of soccer, HORSE and kickball. Use it to keep score and mark boundaries or bases.

Creative Canvas

How about using chalk and the sidewalk or driveway as a big canvas to draw on. Promote cooperation and sharing by having the kids work together in drawing a city skyline or a big nature scene. Or, trace their bodies and have them fill in facial features and clothing. Sketching animal tracks on the ground is a great way to have kids guess which animal made them. Use your imagination for hours of fun!

Reference materials taken from the following sources: verywell.com

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