Fine Motor Friday: DIY Chalk Paint

Chalk is a disaster for my students. They get it everywhere, sometimes it stains certain knits, or they try eating it so frequently that I cannot keep up with redirecting them all. However, it is also a lot of fun for practicing handwriting and hanging out outside. 

I had not seen much in the form of chalk paint except at craft stores and the colors are quite dull. I used baking soda, flour, and a few drops of food coloring (add more or less depending on how hot of a color you want). Depending on size and how thick you would like it to be, use about equal parts water and flour to make a mixture of 2/3s. Then, match that to 1/3 baking soda to complete the mixture. My students practiced tacting shapes, tracing, and holding the brushes with a more firm grip. I used a thicker mixture with students who had a harder time with fine motor skills. This helped it transfer to the concrete without the student showing more of a struggle than the rest of the class. After all, this is supposed to be fun!

I will definitely use this play based learning activity next year and have the students more involved with the measuring and mixing next time.