Anything we can do for fun outside during this nice weather is tops in my book.  With kids of all ages around the neighborhood stopping by all day, I wanted something that everyone could do together.  Very young children all the way to adults (me, too) love to have a big outdoor canvas to create their own special masterpiece.  Whoever invented the idea of drawing on sidewalks should earn the Nobel Peace Prize.  I’ve seen swarms of kids of all ages painting side-by-side, peacefully coexisting like they rarely do with other games.

I like sidewalk paint a bit more than the sidewalk chalk you can buy.  They’re both fun, but the paint goes so much further.  We start in the driveway and go right out onto the sidewalks and end up with a very colorful world of art.  (Think Mary Poppins.)  It’s a shame when it rains and washes away our beautiful scenery, but that just gives us an excuse to start over!

Here’s how you make a single batch of sidewalk paint.  Of course, you’ll need several batches so you can make different colors.  In a disposable container, mix together 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup water.  Mix until it’s nice and smooth, then start dropping in food coloring until you’ve reached the desired shade.  Repeat the same process, dropping in other colors, and continue until you have all the colors you want.  This is a great learning experience, too, by mixing up batches of orange out of red and yellow food coloring, etc.

Now that you have all the colors together, gather up some paintbrushes, both bristle and foam are fine, some kitchen sponges, and anything else you have around the house that would be suitable for painting.  Keep in mind that these items will not wash totally clean, and they’ll get chewed up a bit on the cement, so be sure that they’re disposable.

You can use this paint in combination with sidewalk chalk for some interesting variations.  The main thing is that painting on sidewalks is addictive!  Your kids will be mesmerized for a good, long time as they create their artwork.  Do this when your schedule isn’t really hurried, as you’ll no doubt be tempted to stay outdoors and join in the fun for a long time, too!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 6:43 am and is filed under Frugal Fun Fridays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.