DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint is a fun way to paint this summer with your toddler or preschooler. Made with only two ingredients, sidewalk chalk is a great way to get creative when its hot out!
Looking for other ways to use sidewalk chalk this summer? Check out these cool ideas:
Sidewalk Chalk Obstacle Course
DIY Fizzy Sidewalk Chalk Paint
Sidewalk Chalk Magnetic Tile Puzzles
What You’ll Need
- Baking soda
- Water
- Bowl
- Muffin tin
- Paint brushes
- Food colouring
How to Make Sidewalk Chalk Paint
I am a huge fan of sidewalk chalk especially during the summer. I usually give it as gifts to my kids for Easter and we use it all spring and summer. So I was super excited to try making homemade sidewalk chalk paint, which by the way is not made with sidewalk chalk!
To make sidewalk chalk paint:
- Mix 1 cup of corn starch with 1 cup of water slowly to the mixture until you have reached the desired paint consistency. I like to add slightly more water so that paint is a bit watery. This makes it easier to for little kids to paint on sidewalks or pavements without constantly dipping in the brush.
- Add a single (or less) drop of food colouring. I would avoid using gel food colouring as it may stain your outdoor surface.
- Mix the food colouring throughly until you have reached the desired colour.
Test the paint on your outdoor surface before using with your child to ensure that it won’t stain. You should be able to remove the sidewalk chalk paint easily with your hose.
How They Play
This paint was honestly better than I thought! The colour was amazing and it looks just look how you would image chalk paint would. Right before you let your little ones paint, make sure to give the paint a little stir to ensure that the paint is mixed well.
My guys loved this activity but unexpectedly they decided that they wanted to paint themselves with the chalk paint. So I changed them into their bathing suits and lettjem paint their arms, legs and feet.
After they finished I hosed them off. The paint stained their skin slightly but came off in the bath that night. Since this paint is made with food colouring it can stain clothing.
Clean Up
The sidewalk chalk washed off easily with my hose! This was definitely a fun way to keep my 3 year olds busy this summer!
Age Suitability
This activity is good for kids 2.5 years and up. My kids are 3, 3, and 6 year old.
Looking for more summer and outdoor activity ideas? Check out of these other round-ups for more ways to keep your toddler or preschooler busy this summer:
- 25+ Outdoor Water Activities to Keep Kids Cool This Summer
- 40+ Awesome Outdoor Learning Activities for Kids
- 30+ Easy Outdoor Art Projects for Kids
- 60+ Awesome Outdoor Activities for Kids
- 45+ Awesome Water Sensory Bins for Toddlers & Preschoolers
- 40+ Water Table Activities for Toddlers
- 21+ Spray Bottle Activities for Toddler
- 20 Amazing Backyard Obstacle Courses
- 21+ Amazing Summer Sensory Bins
- 25+ Adorable Summer Crafts for Toddlers
- 40+ Ice Sensory Play
- 12 Healthy Smoothie Recipes for Toddlers + Kids
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
