As a family that does LOTS of kids activities and crafts, we have LOTS of leftover supplies, remnants of previous projects. After numerous games of sidewalk twister and our giant outdoor game board, it’s time. Today we are cleaning out our sidewalk chalk bucket.
Chalk + Egg = Paint – the same type of paint that Michelangelo used to paint the Sistine Chapel – my kids are making masterpieces!
Grab the chalk bits and pieces from your bin. I went through our collection of chalk pastels and added some of the smaller pieces from there as well. Soak your chalk bits in water. Be sure to keep the colors separated in the water, or the colors will get “grey”. We used a muffin tin – it was a great place to sort, soak, mix and paint from! Soak the chalk for 15 minuets or so, or until slightly mushy . The cheaper dollar chalk tends to become a smoother paint consistency “ but the colors are not as bright as the name brand chalks. Chalk Pastels make the most brilliant paints!!
Use a hammer and gently pound the chalk until it is a powdery paste. You can also just mush the chalk stick if it has soaked long enough – that’s my kids favorite way to make chalk paint. We break our chalk up on our patio and just hose it off when we are done. If you do not have access to a patio, you can use a zippered plastic bag to contain the mess and crush wherever.
Once you have the powdered chalk, add an egg yolk. This is a DO NOT EAT paint as it contains raw-egg. Be sure to only use this paint with kids who won’t put their hands/brushes in their mouths. If you are still concerned about the “raw egg” bit – you can flash pasteurize the eggs to bacteria.
Separate the egg yolk from the egg white, and add the yolk to the powder until it is a paint-able consistency. The egg provides a jewel-like finish when the paint dries.
We used our paint to create Kandinsky-like circles. Aren’t they just brilliant! I think this is one of my favorite “big-kid” paint recipes.
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More Kids Painting Activities:
- Fizzing sidewalk Paint
- Bathtub paint
- Milk Paint & Science Experiment
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