Drawing with chalk can be fun for kids of all ages. It’s also a great time to work on speech and language development.
Here are some fun and easy ideas to get started:
1. Model fun and silly sounds as you draw with chalk.
Examples: “Swish,” “scrape,” “bump bump,” “whoosh,” “weeee” or “around and around.”
2. Talk about what you’re drawing.
Examples: “I’m drawing, draw, draw, draw,” “circle, square, heart,” “rainbow, red, orange…”
3. Trace your hand or your child’s hand, talking as you do so.
Examples: “Around the thumb, up, down, and around” “Mine is big”
4. Trace your child’s body as they lie on the ground, labeling parts of the body. Your child can also help draw the details, while you talk about what you’re doing.
Examples: “head,” “arms,” “legs,” “feet,” “toes,” “tummy,” “face,” “eyes,” “mouth” and “nose.”
5. Draw basic animals, making the sounds they make.
Examples: “moo,” “neigh,” “meow,” “woof,” and “quack.”
6. Trace different objects, such as cars, cups and bowls. Talk about the objects and make sound effects.
Examples: “Vrrrooom, car,” “beep beep,” “nom nom nom” (for bowls), “slurp” (for cups).
7. Make an obstacle course. Feel free to get creative here!
Examples: stomp on all of the dots, spin around in the circle, touch your toes 3 times when you get to the blue square, walk backwards until you get to the red line, bear crawl for ten steps, or run to the end.
8. Play hopscotch, talking as you complete the game.
Examples: “hop,” “jump,” “skip,” “1, 2, 3,” “woah,” “uh oh” and “oh no!”
9. Draw a family portrait with your child, including all important people in their lives. Talk about who you’re drawing.
Examples: Mama, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, sissy, brother, kitty, doggie, etc.
10. Draw roads or train tracks for your child to drive their trains or cars along. Make sounds as you draw and as you play with the cars and trains.
Examples: “chugga chugga choo choo,” “vroom,” “squeak,” “stop,” “go,” “fast,” “beep,” “honk” and “crash!”
Have fun with your child and follow their lead. If they are interested in drawing something different, or changing how a game is played, follow their lead! See if you can talk about what they are doing as you join them in play. Think about fun and silly sounds you can make as you play together.
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