Summertime Sidewalk Painting

Last summer we had a lot of fun making sidewalk paint and using it on our patio.  I had completely forgotten about this great activity, but apparently it stuck with M, who asked me about it a few days ago. 

Here’s the oh-so-simple recipe:

1 part cornstarch to 1 part cold water
5 to 6 drops of food coloring for each color you want to make.

We used 2/3 Cups of both cornstarch and water.  And we ended up with two good-sized containers worth of paint (a bit bigger than an applesauce or jello snack container).  It went fast, so we definitely could’ve used more!
Just mix the water slowly into the cornstarch.  If you are using a whole box of cornstarch, you’ll need to use a whisk or maybe an electric mixer.  Pour it into your individual containers, then add your food coloring and gently mix it in.   Food coloring will stain clothing so be careful!!  It did wash completely off of our driveway with the first rain, so no worries there, although you could always use a dab of washable paint for color in place of the food coloring.

We used regular old paintbrushes and some foam brushes to paint with.  It’s fun to watch the watery paint dry quickly in the sun – it becomes so vibrant as it dries!  Pretty, pretty, pretty. :)

M drew a pirate ship.  Obviously. ;)  And some other things I can’t remember.  I drew our family and the earth and sun.  It’s really hard to resist getting down and having fun with this sidewalk paint – we had a wonderful time doing this together!
Have a beautiful day! :)

Build-a-Letter LOWERCASE Templates. Finally.

Well, I have them finished.  Not exactly by the end of April, as I foolishly told someone earlier this year, but finished nonetheless. :)

I have not gotten around to actually cutting the shapes from foam yet and presenting this to M.  I think I’ll do a few letters with him at a time, along with the uppercase ones (which you can find here), since apparently he has regressed a bit with recognition of both “mama” and “baby” letters.  Or maybe he’s just pulling my leg.  With him I never know!

I plan to use foam for the shapes and print the letter pages on colored paper to make it a bit more appealing than old black and white.

Let me know if you use these!  You can download them by clicking on the image above or going here.

Have a beautiful day! :)