Dear Reader,
I didn’t exactly know how well it would go, but when my preschooler asked if she could play with chalk, I decided to see how well the toddlers did with it. It was nice weather (although the forecast said it was supposed to be cold today), and these two love to go outside! They beeline for the door if anyone grabs any shoes, so they were more than happy to get to go outside with permission this time.
And boy was that an adventure. I will say, they did “draw.” But it was about 10 seconds in duration. Then I spent the rest of the time chasing after one and then the other to keep them on the concrete instead of booking it to the rocks or the grass or eating the chalk. Part of me hoped that by leaving them barefoot, they’d be more apt to stay on the flat surface but the bumpy rocks didn’t even slow them down.
I mean, I didn’t expect much, they’re still really little for chalk, but I figured that exposing them is the first start. And since winter is right around the corner, now seemed like a good enough time. They knew that holding the chalk and touching the concrete was the general idea, and made a few marks. But, alas, the joy of being outside was much more of a pull than putting color on the cement.
The preschooler, however, did enjoy her time to be artistic, so all the chasing was worth it. She started with drawing lines (or 1’s), then we drew shapes. She just discovered that she can spin around with the chalk and it makes a circle. I was kind of impressed when she turned those circles into fruit. One was a pear, one was an apple and one was an orange, all with added green leaves.
I’m sure there will be more time to play with chalk, but it may not happen until next spring, so it was a good time to get in a little practice. And some sunshine. Around these parts, we could always use a little more sunshine.
