9 Outdoor Games with Chalk!
Happy Spring!
Just like the kids, I am ready to get outside! Winter blues and a harsh winter kept us inside for far too long.
Outside toys and equipment can be very expensive, but you can find value packs of chalk at your local superstore or discount shop for reasonable prices. Wanting to be wallet-friendly and also entertaining for the kids can be a tricky tight-rope walk, so here is how we make the most of our paved driveway and affordable friend: chalk! *Don’t have a paved driveway? A local skate park, school, or community center may let you enjoy a quiet corner of theirs!
So to maximize our time, energy, and budget, here are NINE budget-friendly ideas to get outside, active, and have fun!
2. Calculator! Yes, I know, this seems like more homework, and it sort of is, but it can be highly entertaining for kids who enjoy celebrating their newfound math skills or like to trip up the adults. Draw out the buttons of a calculator or scatter the numbers between 0 and 9. Prompt the kiddos with a math problem and have them -type- hop it out, don’t forget to take turns, remember if they ask you to solve the wildest math problem, they have to know the answer too, or else you could be wrong!
3. Themed Playscape! Take a vacation or go on an adventure without hiring a travel agent or renting a movie! Draw out basic shaped places, buildings, and objects. Ask the kids to add the details or make that the adventure. A large semicircle is now a ship, a wavy oval is an island, and a basic palm tree becomes the shelter of a now shipwrecked crew. A classic square and triangle house become decorated with candy, and the sugar fairies steal pieces to build their own creations.
4. Ye Olde Trusty “Hop Scotch”! I don’t think I have ever played this game as classically intended, but that didn’t make it any less fun. Some ways we have played are, Copycat – follow the first hopper move for move across the board, Musical Squares – playing and pausing music to move and stop hoppers traveling on the board, the one who lands on the 10 space wins!
5. Trace and Design! Whether you have fashion design icons or mutant turtles, dressing and designing humanoid figures really sparks creativity and giggles. I don’t think I have ever been as surprised as I was when the sleeping dog’s silhouette became the parachuting octopuppy!
6. Life Size Gameboard! Grab the spinner, cards, or dice from the favorite family game night game and get to doodling. Draw out the board to the best of your body’s ability before your back gives out, and everyone plays as their own game piece! Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and for some over-achievers, Monopoly!
1. Follow the Directions! Create a path made of various kinds of movement; the children have to move along the path following the draw-out instructions. A curvy line is actually a balance beam, lily pads with a frog have to be hopped, a spiral needs to be spun, hands and footprints encourage bear walking. Think of your kid’s abilities and encourage stepping out of their regular movements. Add a scooter or tricycle and a narrow chalk road with lots of loops, or add a soccer ball to dribble into a goal!
7. Target Toss! With water balloons, pebbles, pinecones, or anything safe and readily available, get ready for some sharp-tossing! Whether classic circle targets or more whack-a-mole style, test hand-eye coordination with drawn targets at various distances from a pitcher’s mound.
8. I Spy the Alphabet! For beginner or voracious readers, this can be played in two delightfully customizable ways. Beginners can be asked to find and hop onto the letter called out, while challenge-ready players play more classically, standing on the letter that starts with the noun they have pinpointed in their sight, encouraging others to guess what it is.
9. Pictionary! If you are like us, by the time spring comes around, you are swimming in old vocabulary sheets; trim out the words and toss into a small box and bring them outside! Draw from the box, then draw on the ground the word chosen; the first person to guess goes next, or keep turns even by using tally hash marks to note the score.
I hope these inspire you to chalk it up outside with your littles! If you come up with your own ideas, please comment below to keep this list growing for the next sunny day!
Respectfully yours,
Heather Poppins
