When your kids get out of school and give you the "I'm bored" spiel, hand them some chalk and send them to the driveway! This afternoon I "played" with the chalk with my 3 1/2 and 6 1/2 year old girls. We made hopscotches, wrote our names, created math word problems, traced our hands and bodies, and drew pictures. We had fun! AND they were still learning even though the school day had ended.
Here's just some of that many skills that we were building on for my 3 1/2 year old:
- I wrote her name, and she traced it in different colors. (She can write all but the "y" on her own)
- We identified different shapes in the hopscotch.
- We identified numbers and practiced counting in the hopscotch.
- Our gross motor skills were used when we kept time on each other's hopscotches to see who could do it the quickest.
- Our fine motor skills were used when we manipulated the chalk to do what we wanted it to.
And the list goes on...
And for my 6 1/2 year old:
- We traced each other, then used the measuring tape to see how long our bodies are.
- She made her own hopscotch, configuring different shapes to make it challenging to complete.
- We created word math problems for one another to complete.
- She helped her sister to do math problems by drawing explanatory pictures for her.
And the list goes on...
All of this can be taught unintentionally, but when you realize the impact that a simple afternoon chalk activity can have, it can be very fun and you can intentionally teach to your child's individual needs!
HAPPY CHALKING!
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