Chalk

 

 Janika and Heidi at Festival of Colors, a Indian Tradition celebrated in Spanish Fork, UT.  :)  We stood in clouds of colored chalk...

Here's the deal: I love playing  with chalk.  I was cover just about head to toe with it about two months ago and that was crazy.  I was with people I love, on vacation, and in the great outdoors!  I thought, wow! I've never experienced chalk in this context before! ...Now....

OK, I've been babysitting.  A LOT!  ...:)

 

My new experience is this:  children outside on the driveway or in the backyard with some colored sticks.  This is more common than participating in a cloud of chalk dust throwing.  

 

It's creatively drawing what you know: with Analisa (age two), I draw up things from everyday life, simple shapes, and easily recognizable objects to see if she can recognize them and have fun with them too!  :) I love it!   

This is great because it helps you use your imagination.  Last weekend, I spent about an hour outside -on a beautiful evening- playing with some children I was babysitting.  Together, me and my five-year-old friend built a playhouse, "played" in it, drew our favorite meals hoping the other could guess it by the drawing (for lunch, we both chose quesedillas) , "played" in a chalk sandbox, and lived through the normal activities of a young child in our pretend world.  The older brother thought it was dumb, but I have to say I liked it!