An easy way to play outside with your tamariki.

Why do it?

  • Using chalk provides a different experience of drawing.
  • It develops hand–eye co-ordination.
  • This is an opportunity to be creative — small toy animals and people can be used to make ‘scenes’.
  • It’s easy to clean up afterwards — hose down the path or leave it for the rain to wash away.
  • It trengthens the fine muscles in their hands and fingers
  • It's an opportunity do lots of kōrero with you about what they’re doing and why, which will extend their vocabulary and ability to express themselves.

How to do it

You'll need: Chalk and some concrete to draw on

  • Find a place outside with a suitable hard surface — for example, a footpath.
  • Ask them open-ended questions: ‘What do you feel like drawing?’ ‘What do you need?’
  • Help them to find other props that they could add to the chalk ‘scene’, such as blocks, small boxes, cars, toy animals and people.
  • Blobs of playdough work well to help toys, twigs and people stand up in their play scene.
  • Extend the ideas by asking ‘How could you make a river or a bridge?’

 

Other ideas — Ētahi atu whakaaro

  • See if you can draw using other things like stones, bits of brick or sticks.
  • Read the children’s book called Chalk, by Bill Thomson.
  • Try making up a song about what you’re doing using a tune that you both know. Here’s an example, to the tune of ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush’:

Ka mahia e koe he pāmu, he pāmu, he pāmu

Ka mahia e koe he pāmu

 He pāmu tino pai!

You have made a farm, a farm, a farm

You have made a farm

And it is really good!

Using more te reo Māori

Whakaahua Design
Tioka Chalk
Tuhituhia i te tioka Draw with chalk
Ngā tae Colours
Whero Red
Kōwhai Yellow
Kahurangi Blue
Kakariki Green
White
Waiporoporo Purple
Karaka Orange
Māwhero Pink
Huarahi Road
He huarahi roa A long road
Ara Path
He ara taratara A rough path
Porowhita Circle
Tapawhā Square
Porotītaha Oval
Tapatoru Triangle
He mania tēnei rakau This wood is smooth
Ka taea e koe te tuhi he tapawhā? Can you draw a square
Ka taea e au ki te tuhi he whetū I can draw a star
He iti rawa tēnā tioka That chalk you have is so small
Kua pau te tioka māwhero The pink chalk is all used up