Drawing with sidewalk chalk in the summer was always something my sons really enjoyed. I once bought glow in the dark and soon we had the all the children in the neighborhood working on a glowing masterpiece on our driveway! Little did I know back then that you could actually make it at home! Making it is a great activity in itself as it will teach your child to make their own toys, as well as science, math and reading. I encourage you to try it at home! It is easy to make and it is something we don’t get to do with our students at CEFA Early Learning schools, since they don’t get to use it afterwards (they go home before it is dark enough outside to watch it glow).
Best Ages for This Activity
Two to five
How to Make It
Ingredients
This is per color of chalk you want to make
- 1 cup plaster of paris
- 1 tbsp glow in the dark paint (or here is a set with many colors)
- ¾ cup warm water
- Ice cube trays or silicone molds (any ice cube tray will work)
- Containers to mix each paint color (any container or recycled container will do)
Optional Ingredients
- Black light; or
- Black light flashlights (or try this very bright one)
Let’s Get Started!
- Invite your child to make sidewalk chalk that can glow in the dark
- Make sure that your child does as much as the process below as they can
- In a container (1 container for each paint color), mix the water and paint until the paint is fully dissolved into the water.
- Add 1 cup of plaster of paris to each container and mix thoroughly
- Pour the paint into ice cube trays or silicone molds and wait for it to dry (about 10 hours).
- Once dry, pop the cubes of chalk paint from the ice cube trays
- Voilà! It is ready for your child to start working on their masterpiece outside and wait until nighttime to see it glow beautifully!
- You would have to expose the chalk to light before it can glow in the dark (daylight is perfect!). The more light it absorbs, the more it will glow. You can also use the chalk on paper or cardboard and go inside a dark room or closet to see it glow!
- If you have a black light, you won’t need to expose your child’s masterpiece to light, you can just shine the black light on it and watch how beautifully it glows!
Learning Opportunities
Learning to make play materials is a great life skill. Your child will feel great pride, and it boosts their self-esteem. Children will learn S.T.E.M. while measuring, combining, mixing, counting, dissolving, etc. This recipe also has a great amount of hand-eye coordination skills, and of fine motor skills, a precursor to writing. following directions also teaches reading and S.T.E.M..
Extended Learning Opportunities
Use your sidewalk chalk to paint your driveway, the sidewalk, a fence in the backyard, the trampoline, or make 3D art by using boxes of all sizes to draw on! Try making the workspace wet before your child draws and watch the chalk smoothly cover the surface and produce an even more vibrant art piece!
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