Activity Overview
Create a large chalkboard right in your own backyard. Bring Art and the Outdoors together with this super fun family project which will keep the kids happy for many many hours of outdoor play.
Kids love using sidewalk chalk and ours spend a lot of time hunched over on the driveway drawing away. I have also been amazed at how much they jump at the opportunity to draw on a public chalkboard that certain restaurants and eateries have available. We coupled the ideas together and thought that this would make a great addition to our outdoor play space.
Draw freely, play games such as tic tac toe, post rules, practice writing, play word games and more with this Awesome Backyard Chalkboard project. As an added bonus, a little wash of rain cleans the board every time with ease.
Materials Needed
- A sheet of plywood
- Chalkboard Paint
- An additional outdoor paint for the back unless you want the board to be double sided.
- Sidewalk Chalk
- Paintbrush
- Tools per your method of hanging the chalkboard. We secured to posts, but you can also hang from a fence.
How to Make and Play
- Paint an entire sheet of plywood with chalkboard paint. Paint both sides and all of the edges.
- Allow to dry completely before applying a second coat of paint for extra durability.
- After the paint dries completely, hang it up as desired. You can nail it to a wooden fence. We chose to use the chalkboard as a barrier near our play set to help keep the littlest ones corralled inside the yard boundaries.
- If you like, set up a cute little bucket with a lid full of sidewalk chalk for the kids to start drawing and creating.
