Sidewalk chalk is a great summertime boredom buster; it gets the kids out of the house and gives them something creative to do, and it washes off easily! If your kids are looking for ways to ideas to make their chalk time a little more exciting, we’ve got ten different activities you can do with sidewalk chalk to keep those kiddos busy all summer long.

1. Wet chalk drawing: To do this activity, soak the pieces of chalk in water for a few minutes before coloring. You can soak each piece in a small cup or run it under water until it’s saturated. Alternatively, you can soak your driveway/sidewalk first and then draw with dry chalk. When chalk is wet, the colors are more vibrant, and the chalk glides smoothly along the pavement. 
2. Self-portraits: Have your kids lay on the sidewalk and trace their outlines with chalk, then let them bring their life-size self-portraits to life by adding clothes, hair, facial features, and accessories. If the pavement is too hot to lie down on, have them stand and trace their shadows instead. They can stand in different poses and hold different objects to make different shadows to trace. 
3. 2-D obstacle course: Think of hopscotch but cooler. Instead of making a traditional hopscotch board, think of other fun activities your kids can do on their course. When they land on that spot, they have to perform that action. Some ideas could be to hop on one foot, jump, touch your toes, walk in a zig-zag, spin in a circle, clap, or make an animal sound…the sky's the limit! 
4. Water balloon bullseye: Perfect for a hot day, fill up some water balloons, draw a big target with chalk, and let ‘em fly! Whoever hits the most bullseyes wins! You can also do this with mini bean bags instead of water balloons.
5. Mini cities: Bring out the cars and dolls and let your kids draw a mini cityscape on your driveway with roads and neighborhoods, buildings, and beaches. Make the roadways on a larger scale to ride bikes and scooters through their new town.
6. Just add water: After they’ve finished drawing their masterpieces with chalk, bring out some paint brushes or sponges and a bucket of water and watch their works of art transform. Watch as the water blends the colors and as they create new works of art with just water.
7. Life-size board games: Feeling ambitious? Put that large driveway to use by making life-size Chutes & Ladders or checkerboards. Use the kids as the playing tokens, or use rocks, stuffed animals, toy cars, or other items you find outside.
8. Stained glass chalk art: This was everywhere during the early days of the pandemic, but for a good reason; it’s fun, beautiful, and really easy to do. Grab some painter’s tape and let your kids place strips of differing lengths down until you have a bunch of squares that resemble stained glass. Then let them color those squares in various colors for a beautiful end result. 
9. Chalk relief art: Similar to stained glass art because you’ll be using painter’s tape again. Let your kids write their names or make a design with painter’s tape, then color over it with chalk. When they remove the tape, their name will pop out from the pavement.
10. Make big backdrops: Whether they’re for a fun photo op or just to add to their imaginary play, creating a wild backdrop can be a fun activity for everyone. From drawing tall buildings for Superman to leap over with a single bound to a unicorn in a field of flowers for a beautiful princess or a wild jungle with fearsome animals for your intrepid explorers, their imaginations will run wild with these fun backgrounds.

Sidewalk chalk is inexpensive and readily available pretty much anywhere, and it hoses off with just water…what’s not to love?! Kids of all ages (adults, too) will get into making colorful creations all summer long while discovering the power of play. You might even get a little peace and quiet. Win-win.