Blog — Sidewalk Chalk Holder
The Benefits of the Arts and How to Get Involved
If you want to help expand the mind of your child then you should consider infusing the arts into their lives. By playing music, painting pictures, and expressing themselves artistically, kids can have more fulfilled lives and you never know where the hobby could take them!
What’s the Trick to Keeping Kids Entertained at Home?
(Welcome! Here is a GUEST Blog post by our good friends at Wise Marketing, enjoy!)
Think you’ve got a bad case of cabin fever? Your children are likely feeling it too.
With schools being shuttered, classes moving to an online space, and a cloud of general misery hanging over our heads because of the pandemic, it’s no surprise that some of our kids are acting out.
This is normal; the coronavirus has deprived them of the chance to meet with their friends and enjoy their youth. But it’s our job to help our kids cope with their emotions in a way that’s healthy, and not destructive.
Unfortunately, most parents nowadays might turn to smartphones to pacify their children. We understand the appeal - the phone keeps them occupied, freeing you up to work or do household chores. However, too much time indoors poses a problem. It’s even prevalent enough to be called a disorder – more precisely, nature deficit disorder.
The symptoms probably sound familiar to you by now, and can include increased stress, crankiness and anxiety due to a severe lack of exposure to outdoor spaces.
With that said, how are we supposed to keep our children entertained at home without excessively relying on gadgets?
We can take a cue from people running daycare businesses from their homes. Home-based daycare providers have developed detailed curricula, and invested in toys, arts and crafts, and educational materials all aimed at helping children make the most out of playtime. These have helped the industry develop into a $27-billion market, but that doesn't mean having to spend a fortune just to give the same experience to your kids. Here are a few of their tried and tested activities you could do at home:
Try sidewalk chalk games
At home doesn’t necessarily mean indoors.
Step outside onto your driveway or sidewalk to do these activities. All you’ll need are some colorful pieces of chalk and, of course, your face masks to keep you safe.
There are tons of games you could play with just chalk and an open stretch of pavement. Try some sidewalk twister, tic-tac-toe or Pictionary. For more of a brainteaser, you could even try classic hopscotch, with a few math equations thrown into the mix.
Establish a daily routine
The pandemic has disrupted everyone’s lives, but it has perhaps placed a heavier burden on parents whose kids have special needs.
If you're taking care of a child who requires special care, one thing you can do to alleviate the stress is to establish a regular timetable for activities.
Set specific times to eat breakfast, take a bath, do some schoolwork, and enjoy some leisure time. According to experts, repetition and routine offer comfort and help stabilize most kids with learning disabilities.
This is only a palliative solution, however. Careful coordination among parents, special care providers, and concerned agencies is required to address the children's needs and ensure their well-being in the long run.
Go backyard camping
We’ve already mentioned how important it is for children to connect with nature and the outdoors. What better way to do that than to go camping in your own backyard?
You’ll need some sleeping bags, a pop-up tent, and some blankets to start. Once your camping site has been set up, you could hold a scavenger hunt, and even tell spooky stories while eating s’mores over a campfire if your backyard has the space for it!
Create artwork
Making art is a great way to channel boredom and frustration, and it also helps nurture your children's creativity. Additionally, it can also serve as an avenue for you to learn how they're making sense of the pandemic and their current reality.
For this, you will need some coloring materials and paper. When the kids are done with their art, you can place their masterpieces on the refrigerator door, or even hang them on a cable on your fence to make a makeshift art gallery for your neighbors to see.
There are countless more ways to keep your kids busy at home, and we hope you enjoyed our above suggestions. If you think we missed any fun activities, let us know through our social media!
Practical Ways to Avoid Stress When Traveling with Young Kids
How to Make Traveling With Kids Less Stressful - Guest Blog by Leslie Campos from Wellparents.com.
Eight Games To Play With Sidewalk Chalk This Summer! Stand Up & Draw, Play & Create.
Looking for quick and easy fun games to play this summer? Grab some sidewalk chalk and keep the kids active for hours with these ideas.
It's Not Just About Money - Raising Strategic Capital For Your Start-Up
How Walkie Chalk raised strategic capital for our toy invention and start-up!
Look Out! 2018 Sidewalk Chalk Art Festivals Are Coming in Michigan
2018 Michigan Sidewalk Chalk Art Festivals!
It may still be snowing here in the Midwest but Spring is right around the corner...
It is, right?
Yes, it is - and that means sunshine, getting outside and finding fun creative things to do with your kids on the weekends. One very cool thing is to check out a Street Art Sidewalk Chalk Frestival - fun and when you see the artwork, it's amazing!
Here are a few really great festivals happening in Michigan in 2018, and Walkie Chalk may just pop up at a few!
June 15-16
West Michigan Chalk Art Festival - Byron Center, MI
June 23-24, 2018
Northville Chalk Festival, Northville, MI
July 28-29
Chalk Art - Downtown Chelsea, MI
August 3-5
Chalk The Block - St. Joseph, MI
Walkie Chalk® Signs Global License With PlayMonster LLC!
PlayMonster LLC announced today it has acquired the worldwide license for Walkie Chalk®, the innovative sidewalk chalk holder that empowers kids and adults to “Stand Up & Draw!”®
The Hottest Outdoor Toy of 2017 Hits a Store Near You: "Stand Up & Draw" With Sidewalk Chalk!
From Kickstarter to 5,000 stores in less than 9 Months!
Whew, that's a lot of walking.... but, we're just getting started!
We were fortunate enough to get orders nationally from: Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, MIchaels, Hobby Lobby, Ace Hardware and more....
It's here!
Shauna's ingenuity lead to me inventing her a solution a little over a year ago - called Walkie Chalk - because after having our 3rd child, she couldn't get on the ground to draw with sidewalk chalk.
Now - her picture is hanging on our packages in over 5,000 stores, in less than year - and, kids, parents and grandparents have a new fun way to play and create outside.
Toys R Us....Not bad company...
We basically invented Walkie Chalk in an Ace Hardware - special place to us....and they love Walkie Chalk too!
Our first purchase order and maybe the nicest people around, Hobby Lobby....
Bed Bath & Beyond - Temporary spot, Summer display is still in the works... look for us near the check out of your local store!
They make great Easter gifts or Spring birthday presents. Grab a Walkie Chalk and go!
Holiday Rush and the End of a Memorable Year
Who knew?
Walkie Chalk is... a big Christmas gift?
I didn't, that's for sure. Who buys sidewalk chalk stuff for Xmas? Don't they know it's 22 degrees and snowing out?
When we created it, I was focused mostly on the idea of a very seasonal summer toy - but people kept saying no, it could be year-round... well, given our Amazon stock, or lack thereof, I guess I was wrong. And glad to be wrong. As the chilly white stuff falls here in Michigan I keep forgetting that kids in nice warm places like Florida and Texas can draw sidewalk chalk all year. Lucky ducks!
We keep sending boxes to Amazon and they keep disappearing, and orders coming from all over - Biloxi AL, Darien, CT, Nashua, NH, Honolulu, HI, Las Vegas, NV or my favorite Conshohocken, PA! - . It's sort of the same feeling to have your product shipping to all these strangers - as it is a parent when you child goes off to school is playing with new kids - I just want to know, who are these people? Who is playing with our toy? But THANK YOU, from Ocean City to Century City, we appreciate it!
So as we head towards the end of 2016, we're thinking back on what a year it was. At this time a year ago, we had a single plastic 3D printed prototype of what we thought Walkie Chalk could be, no packaging, no web site and were stressed about the investment to take a giant leap of faith in production.
But, with a great investor, awesome manufacturing partners, the best graphic design guy on the planet (how we got so lucky, I'll never know) sleepless nights and support from our friends, we did it.We have shipments on their way to Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond and Hobby Lobby right now, and we'll be on Zulily next week.
We also met amazing people, like Choon Ng who invented the RainbowLoom (the biggest toy of the last 20 years!) and have gotten calls and emails from buyers, parents and grandparents all around the world. The same guy in Australia keeps emailing asking when he can get a Walkie Chalk!
Now, we're getting ready for Toy Fair in February with our distributor, Talicor out of Kalamazoo, MI and from there it's onto 2018 planning already. Shauna is lining up some awesome PR for the summer too, so watch out! Who knows where Walkie Chalk will go or what happens to our little idea - but now we can say we did something and it was with your help and support that it happened.
We truly thank all of you guys for the encouragement, contacts and advice - it's been one heck of a 2016.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Stand Up & Draw!