Sidewalk chalking is a big thing here in the USA, more so than in the UK, and my girls love it as much as the next. I'm happy for them to scrawl all over pavements in the park but not so happy to step out of our back door and see their 'art'. I put it down to the neat freak in me and the lack of rain here which means you are stuck with said 'art' for weeks (unless of course you bother to hose it off!).
I decided to make a chalk board for the girls to scrawl/doodle/draw on until their hearts are content with the added bonus of covering up our dilapidated fence.
Darn easy project if you've got a fence to hide and/or artistic children:-)
Materials:
- Sheet of regular plywood - ours is a massive 8ft x 4ft which is the width between fence posts so easier to secure. HD or Lowes will cut to size for you.
- Chalk board paint. I got mind from Lowes and just under $10 for the tin (I used all of it for our board).
- Primer. I used some I had left over which was actually white.
- Screws to attach to fence. We added a baton of 2x4 across the top for added strength as its so wide.
- Bucket of chalk
One coat of primer, 3 coats of chalkboard paint, one evening of taking the fence apart then rebuilding (not my idea!) and we have a chalkboard.
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| Beautiful bucket of chalk. Looked like this for about 1 day... |
Fortunately we've had a few cooler weeks (low 30's) so they have been able to use it. I think I'll invest in a sail shade to rig up so they can use it more in the summer. Although when its too cool for the pool it will be a welcome garden activity.
Are your kids chalk fans? Get making a board!