Sidewalk Chalk Paint!

This SUPER fun project {Sidewalk Chalk Paint}was orginally posted over at Postively Splendid as part of Amy's Summer Survival Guide. I am reposting just in case you missed it, but please go over and check out all the other awesome summer ideas that have been {and will be} posted throughout the month of May!

We love regular chalk at our house. It's relatively cheap, not too messy, and it is the perfect outdoor activity! Basically the kids love chalk because it's fun and I love chalk because they are making a mess outside and not inside:) What I don't love about chalk are all the little broken pieces that pile up after a few weeks of use. I hate to throw them away, but they are just too small to use without scraping your fingers on the concrete!

Instead of throwing them out, we are going to turn those broken piece of chalk into paint! Start by sorting your chalk by color. This is a great teaching activity for any kiddo who is working on learning their colors.

Put each individual color into a zippered bag.

Seal up the bag and then break up the chalk using a small hammer. This should be done by an adult or a {very} well supervised child. Try and break the chalk into a fine powder to make you paint as smooth as possible.

One you have your powdered chalk, pour each color into small plastic cups.

Add a little water.

And stir around with a paint brush to dissolve the chalk powder. We used some inexpensive art brushes that are now our chalk paint brushes:) All of the chalk powder may not dissolve, but your paint should still work fine. Use a different brush for each color and then let the kiddos get busy making art on your sidewalk. The colors may be hard to see at first, but as soon as they start to dry the individual colors will show up well!

The best part about chalk paint is that if someones spills it, it isn't a big deal because all you need is a water hose to clean up the mess!

And that is how you turn broken chalk pieces into a ton of summer fun!