Sugar Chalk

Sweet Pea is 34 months old.

From: I found this activity in MaryAnn Kohl‘s great book, Preschool Art.

Material:

• 1/3 cup sugar.
• 1 cup water.
• Whisk or spoon.
• Chalk (We had a great time with regular white chalk, but colored sidewalk chalk might be even more exciting).
• Bowl.
• Dark colored paper (black or red worked best for us).

Procedure:

• In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cup of sugar into 1 cup of water.   Stir until the sugar is totally dissolved.
• Put the chalk into the sugar water and let it soak for several hours.  (Overnight works best, but 3 days was too long.)
• Set the paper on a table in front of your tot.  Remove the chalk from the sugar water and hand it to your tot.
• Allow your tot to draw on the paper.

Observations: I was crazy about this activity.  The sugar water makes the chalk drawings so pretty.   At first the markings looked mostly wet and dull, but they quickly turned bright white.  I loved drawing with the sugar chalk and while Sweet Pea thought this activity was fun, I don’t think she appreciated it as much as I did.

The book also said that you can just dip chalk into sugar water and write with it.   We tried this too and Sweet Pea loved the activity of dipping the chalk, but I didn’t think this worked as well as the longer soak.

After she made her drawing, Sweet Pea liked to pick up the paper and examine her work… which meant sugary chalk water ran down the front of the paper and all over the floor.  🙂

Notes from the Trenches: Clean up spilled drops of sugar water promptly because it will harden into a sticky glaze as it sits.

You won’t be able to write with the chalk eventually if you let it soak in the solution too long (several days).    I’m sure there is a good science experiment lurking in that observation, but maybe we’ll wait till Sweet Pea is a little older to investigate it.

Rating: 4 Stars * (Fun, Easy, Independent, Frugal)

Carnivals: This post is linked at  Child Centered Art Party #9 at Art for Little Hands.