Get Outside with Sidewalk Chalk Activities! Link Roundup

Spring has sprung! (Well, for some of us. I have cousins in Minneapolis and it is still very snowy there so I send my most genuine condolences and warmest wishes to everyone still fighting Jack Frost. Love, Very Southern Sarah)

After all the cold and rain we’ve experienced, I bet a lot of you and your members are like me in that you are very ready to be OUTSIDE. Here on the ClubX Blog we’ve posted link roundups of inexpensive activities using water balloons, pool noodles, and beach balls, so what’s the next set? Sidewalk chalk! Here are some of my favorite ideas I found around the interwebz.

Creating a chalk life-size board game is SO FUN. This specific example feels more preschool than school-age, but the idea is a solid one. You can have youth create games in small groups and then play each others games!

You can do a bunch of literacy activities with chalk. Any time kids get a chance to write, they are increasing their reading skills!

These two sight word games would take some time to set up (get Junior Staff or Torch Club to help!) but would work if you have a group made up of youth from the same grade.

Here’s another twist on a life-size board game, but using math facts.

Sidewalk Scoot is a fun idea for older elementary youth, and I mean everybody loves breaking out the scooters.

Learning anatomy? Sketch out the skeletal system or even internal organs using chalk!

Learning astronomy? Here you go! You could even extend this activity by tying constellations to myths from cultures around the world that tell their stories. Then have them create their own! It could be several days of linked programming.

This art activity is ideal for older youth. The example uses Russian architecture specifically, but you could have youth choose whatever image they want and use the grid system to reproduce.

If you have painters tape around, this activity would be a cool way to explore geometric pattern making.

There is no activity with this image (it just links to Reddit) but HOW COOL IS THIS. With older youth, just giving them some space to get outside and get creative would be a soothing session.

This site gives a list of some art ideas that could be paired with a photography activity. I especially love the flower crown!

And if you really want to go next level, you can have youth MAKE their own chalk!

Enjoy the warm weather! (You’ll get it eventually, Minnesota!)

What are your favorite ways to get youth outside? Do you have any go-to activities using sidewalk chalk or other inexpensive supplies? Share them with us by commenting below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or by emailing ClubXBlog@bgca.org!