Blog — Walkie Chalk

Guest Author: Lillian Brooks

If your child has learning disabilities, it’s essential to encourage them to participate in the arts. The arts can improve communication skills, grow self-confidence, and increase fitness levels. Here, the creativity experts at Walkie Chalk present five of the best options for children with learning disabilities.

1. Music

Participating in a music class or learning a musical instrument requires complete focus. As a result, music is ideal for relieving stress, teaching your children to concentrate, and helping them gain a creative outlet.

In addition, a recent survey produced by AARP found music listeners had higher scores for mental well-being, higher levels of happiness, and better cognitive function. In fact, sixty-eight percent of parents that introduced their children to music rated their child’s ability to learn new things as very good or excellent. However, this was only 50% for parents who hadn’t exposed their children to music.

2. Acting

Transferring energy to performing arts can be helpful to an active child, and acting is one of the best options. Your children can gain confidence, a sense of achievement, teamwork skills, and multiple creative skills from acting.

In addition, acting can boost your child’s communication skills. Around 86% of employees state poor communication is the main reason for workplace failures. Therefore, you should promote your child’s communication skills at a young age.

3. Painting and Drawing

Children often enjoy drawing things; when we become adults, we often stop drawing due to our busy adult lives. But drawing can relieve stress and anxiety in adults, so it’s a shame most adults forget about their painting passions.

With that said, painting is excellent for children. It helps them build confidence, develop problem-solving skills, create a shared learning experience, increase brain development, enhance senses, explore color, and convey individual ideas.

You and your child can also get outside to draw using Walkie Chalk. This fun modification to classic chalk drawing makes it easier for adults to play along. Plus, kids with sensory challenges can enjoy drawing without getting chalk on their fingers!

4. Dancing

Young children have so much energy, and dancing is one of the best ways to focus that energy. Dancing can enhance creativity, encourage socialization, increase cognitive development, and boost emotional development.

Dancing is also excellent for helping your child’s physical fitness. It improves their flexibility, overall balance, coordination, muscular strength, heart and lung condition, and spatial awareness.

5. Crafting

You’ll struggle to find a better creative outlet for your children than crafting. It can improve self-confidence, reduce overall stress, decrease anxiety, raise a child’s focus, and grow emotional development.

Crafting is also superb for teaching colors and shapes, encouraging critical thinking, building resilience, and increasing pattern recognition.

Design an Arts Room

By creating an arts room in your home, you and your children can explore the world of art in a comfortable and familiar setting. When designing your arts room, be sure to include plenty of storage for all of your supplies. And be sure to leave plenty of open space for painting, drawing, or whatever other creative pursuits you enjoy.

Not only will an arts room make your home more attractive to potential buyers, but it will also give you and your children a place to relax and express yourself. Keep track of any upgrades by keeping receipts and taking before-and-after photos because this new addition may be a valuable selling feature when you eventually choose to list your house and move.

Start Teaching Children Yourself

Teaching children is incredibly rewarding. You may find a passion for teaching children arts and crafts when you share the benefits with your children. If so, consider teaching your arts and crafts lessons to children of all ages and backgrounds.

You can work as a self-employed teacher, but consider registering your new teaching business as a limited liability company. It’ll offer you more flexibility, less paperwork, and various tax benefits. If you’re not sure how to start an LLC, use a formation service to avoid costly legal fees.

Get Children Involved in the Arts Today

While the arts are great for helping everyone to get in touch with their own creativity, they can be especially fantastic for children with learning difficulties because they give them an outlet in a world that otherwise doesn’t always seem to take their feelings and perspectives into consideration. You may even decide to start your own business teaching art to children!

After a long day working, running the household or completing errands, the last thing you want is to put your hand down on the counter and feel something sticky on the surface. But for many parents? Cleaning up after the kids is part of the job. 

Luckily, there are ways to ease the burden of cleaning and teach your kids to share the load. By showing them that cleaning can be fun, quick and painless, they can pick up clean habits that will make mopping up a spill or folding their laundry second nature rather than a chore. 

One way to teach kids not to fear cleaning is by playing cleaning games  with them while they’re still learning. Check out this list of fun games that can help you build a culture of cleanliness in your home. Take a look!

The Clean Lantern

Link to download this mockup image.

Turn your kids into a superhero who is on a mission to find and defeat the evil Dust Bunny. Create a cape using a sheet, then use this printable superhero eye mask and badge to turn your kids into the Clean Lantern. Challenge them to fight evil using their mops and washcloths. 

Laundry Room Races

Once the laundry is finished and ready to be folded, line your kids up at a starting line and have them race to get their clothes folded, taken to their rooms and put away. There’s nothing like a little friendly competition to get chores done. For added fun: have them shoot their socks into the laundry bin like a basketball before they can move on.

Link to download preview image.

Chores and Ladders

Give each child a token such as a coin or bottlecap and use this printable game board to make cleaning a game of chance. Line up at the starting line and roll a 6-sided die, then move the number of spaces indicated and complete the corresponding task. The game board even includes blank spaces for you to leave blank so your kids can get off the hook, or write in house-specific chores. 

Sprinkler Time

If there’s an outside mess to be cleaned up — chalk on the driveway, anyone? — make it more fun by playing games with sprinklers or a hose. Put on bathing suits, turn on the hose and have fun spraying each other while you clean up chalk or wash the car. 

Link to download preview image.

Dust Monster

Make sweeping more interesting by turning the dustpan into a monster that is hungry for dirt and dust. Print out the dust monster printable, have your kids color it in then attach it to your dustpan with tape. Every time your kids sweep dirt into the pan, it’ll look like the dust monster is eating it up.

Cleaning Karaoke

Turn your cleaning day into a concert while mopping, sweeping or dusting. Use the broomstick, mop handle or spray bottle as a microphone and sing along to your favorite pop hits. Bonus points if you dress up like a diva! 

At the end of the day, creating a culture of cleanliness at home means making it so your kids don’t fear cleaning. Make chores fun for them by making it a family affair that they look forward to. 

Guest post by our friend Emily Gibson from Siege Media... Enjoy!

As we get into the middle of summer, we don’t always want to get outside where it’s too hot to enjoy ourselves. But, we still want to have fun!

Making a pillow fort is a great way to achieve the best of both worlds. Pillow forts are fun, low-cost activities that typically only require common household items to get started. All you need to do is gather sheets, blankets and decorations, then start building the indoor oasis of your dreams. 

[in-post image downloads]

Here is a step-by-step guide on creating the ultimate fort: 

Step 1: Gather Supplies

Collect blankets, pillows and sheets to serve as the walls and roof of your fort. 

Step 2: Choose a Location

Try to pick a well-ventilated that is sunny but not too hot. You can also build the fort near a wall plug if you want to have an area to plug in lights or electronics. 

Step 3: Build the Base

Choose a large, sturdy piece of furniture like a couch or chair to serve as the base of your fort. Arrange several smaller pieces of furniture around your base to serve as anchor points. 

Step 4: Build the Roof

Secure a sheet or blanket to your base and to an anchor point, then continue to do so until you have a solid roof. Alternatively, you can make the roof of your fort by attaching the sheet or blanket to the wall with pushpins. 

Step 5: Make the Walls

Fill in the gaps between the roof and the floor by laying blankets and sheets over the fort. For added security, secure them with pushpins. 

Step 6: Add Personal Touches

Making your fort personal for you and your family can make it more fun to spend time inside. Bring in decorations such as lights, stuffed animals and rugs. Consider also making a fun, festive sign or bringing in your family’s favorite things to make the fort all your own and a sanctuary where you can have fun together as a family. For added whimsy and personalization, check out the following printables from Bestow. 

Customizable Welcome Sign

[printable download]

[mockup download]

Download this customizable welcome sign and give your fort its own, fun name. 

Printable Night Sky

[printable download]

[mockup download]

Print out these stars and planets to create a night sky in your fort. Hang them from the top of your fort or attach them to string lights to give yourself the sensation of being in space.

Printable Garden

[printable download]

[mockup download]

Print out these fun garden plants and bugs to add a garden feeling to your fort. Attach them to the sides of your structure with tape or string.

Beach Day Garland

[printable download]

[mockup download]

Print out this beach day garland to bring the fun feeling of a beach tent into your home. String the letters and marine animals together on a string and hang it in your fort to get yourself into a beachy mood. 

Today we have a Guest Blog from our good friend, Matt Zdun - enjoy!

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As you scrape the bottom of the barrel looking for at-home activities to keep your kids entertained this summer, why not try bringing outer space to your sidewalk?

The recent SpaceX launch during the coronavirus pandemic taught us that we’re all pretty fascinated with space exploration, and we all could use a little distraction these days. If your kids love space, and they love chalk, they’ll love this fun and educational activity.

How to set it up

All you need is about 10 feet of sidewalk. In that 10 feet, you can create a solar system that is about 1.5 trillion times smaller than the actual solar system.

Start by tracing out the sun in yellow chalk. Then, using your tape measure or smartphone measuring app, trace out Mercury one inch away, Venus two inches away, Earth three inches away, and so on all the way up to Uranus about six feet away and Neptune 10 feet away.

Make it a fun learning experience

Be sure to write the names of the planets and the actual distances they are from the sun. This is a great way for your kids to visualize the scale of the solar system and get a feel for where the planets are.

Also be sure to draw the relative sizes of the planets correctly for the most accurate sidewalk chalk model. (For example, Jupiter should be a lot bigger than Mercury and Venus.)

Download this fun outer space chalk printable, as well as other free staycation ideas, provided by the team at Wikibuy.

As soon as the weather warms, kids are automatically geared for getting outside and letting loose of the winter blues. Chalk is an affordable, colorful, and magical tool of creativity for kids to use when playing outdoors is a priority. A child’s imagination is truly the limit when chalk is involved!

Hi Walkie Chalk fans - we have our great friend Denise Long here with a fantastic guest blog! Take it away, Denise!

Outdoor Explorers!

Kids are naturally curious about their surroundings, and the best way to engage that curiosity and their senses is to offer plenty of opportunities to explore. Experts know that exploring nature has a powerful, positive effect on the brain. It also teaches kids to cooperate with others and to think creatively. So invite them to venture outside and experience the natural world’s magic.

Backyard Activities

Take children on a scavenger hunt walk and ask them to find different objects. Give them a simple camera with which to snap pictures of, for example, a bird, a red leaf, a flowering bush, or a yellow car. Set up a water table, fill it with toys and water, and let your kiddo go to town. Or, add a sandbox and hide “treasures” for your explorer to discover. A simple swing hanging from a sturdy tree branch provides hours of entertainment, as well.

Set her up with a set of child-safe binoculars and a magnifying glass. Find an ant trail and put a little crumb of food next to the insects — then watch what happens. Collect flowers and press them between the pages of a heavy book to dry, then use them to make crafts.

Keep in mind that older kids love outdoor play, too. By the time kids reach age 5, they’re still very curious and observant about their world. That curiosity leads to critical thinking and greater understanding. Let them take the lead so they can make discoveries first.

Create a treasure hunt for older kids. You’ll need an end prize and a map with plenty of clues. You could put clues in bottles scattered around the yard or write them on a jigsaw and scatter the pieces. Use invisible ink for a real challenge, or incorporate the natural world and use natural markings such as arrows on trees or ones made with piles of rocks and sticks.

For an even more high-tech treasure hunt, try geocaching. All you need is a smartphone with a GPS app to start, but you can also purchase a GPS unit specifically designed for geocaching. Geocaching involves a set of coordinates which you follow to a cache of hidden treats. Currently, there are more than 1 million web-logged caches scattered throughout the world.

Give a kiddo supplies and they’ll create art. A bucket of sidewalk chalk is perfect for creating a hopscotch game, amazing sidewalk murals, or racecourse for RC cars. Go big with Walkie Chalk®, a supersized sidewalk chalk with a holder that extends up to 36 inches and accommodates standard square and round sidewalk chalk. This tool alleviates the need to bend or sit down on the ground to draw — it’s perfect for parents, grandparents, kids, and people with disabilities.

Swimming and Pool Safety

We are attracted to water — it makes us happier, healthier, and brings us peace. Ask any kid and he’ll tell you that water’s perfect for splashing, jumping, and swimming. But a mix of water and children can be deadly. Nearly 1,000 children drown each year, and it’s the second-leading cause of accidental death for people ages 5 to 24.

To keep young swimmers safe, teach them to follow the rules. Keep your phone and other distractions away when you’re watching a younger, inexperienced swimmer. Don’t rely on swimmies, pool noodles, or other non-life saving flotation devices to protect your kiddo. Stay in the water with your child or put him in a Coast Guard-approved life jacket — or do both. Have older kids use the buddy system. Also, get your child swimming lessons. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends starting lessons by age 4. Set and enforce pool rules, including no swimming without adult supervision, no running, no diving into the shallow end, no pushing people in, and no dunking.

You don’t need expensive supplies to create a world of magic. Blankets and deck furniture transform into castles. Gardens become homes to fairy creatures. Cardboard boxes transmogrify into spaceships. Give kids space to create and watch their imaginations soar.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com