We are all spending a lot of time at home these days, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay inside. Your kindergarten child is likely already showing serious signs of cabin fever, as are the rest of us. So the types of activities you engage in during the day can relieve the stresses of the whole family spending your days and nights in such tight quarters. There’s one childhood activity that has the potential to be fun, active, and outdoors.

Sidewalk chalk is an inexpensive activity for children and adults. Here are four easy ways to use it to enhance their learning.

1. Course
Do you remember hopscotch? It’s a fun and easy way to combine the creative design of an obstacle course with hours of outdoor fun. This is an especially good activity for your most active child who needs lots of movement and time outside during the day.

2. Spelling Bee
In kindergarten, your child is learning to read and write short two, three, and four-letter words. There are several spelling activities you can do with your child. Start first by writing out their spelling words on the ground. Work through the list one by one and help them to recognize and sound out each one. Once your child has worked through the list, start back at the beginning and have them trace over the letters of each word. Now they’ve had the experience reading and writing their words!

3. Simple Math Games
Grab the chalk and draw a grid on the ground, write a number in each square of the grid and ask your child to collect enough items to place in the corresponding square. For example, three leaves in the box containing the number three, or two blades of grass in the box containing the number two. This is a fun and engaging way to practice counting and spend time outside on a beautiful day.

4. Creative Time
Finally, give your kindergartner some chalk and let him go wild! Homeschooling is indeed an important task, but remember that we are in the middle of a global crisis and part of our jobs as parents is to make life feel as safe and normal as possible for our kids. Encourage them to think imaginatively, provide prompts to help guide their creativity, and let them have fun!

If quarantine life is starting to feel a little like Groundhog’s Day, and you are your children are bored of living the same days over and over again, add something new to your school routine. You don’t need to spend a ton of money to make homeschooling fun, a bucket of sidewalk chalk will go a long way! If you need additional support as you navigate the rest of the school year, give us a call.