Brilliant Summer Fun Idea: DIY Chalk Rake

This time of year we love doing all sorts of things with chalk, but I never thought to make a sidewalk chalk rake before.

It’s a fun little engineering project for kids that comes together quickly and gives you the fun of drawing a whole rainbow (or just a lot of lines) at once.

The full details are at Laughing Kids Learn. I’m definitely adding it to my summer fun list!

Want more learning fun with chalk? Check out these reading and math activities done with chalk from Mom It Forward, this awesome roundup of learning and play activities from Pleasantest Thing and seven fun games to play with chalk from NutureStore.

How do you like to play and learn with sidewalk chalk? I’d love to hear your ideas.

[Photo via Laughing Kids Learn.]

If you are looking for fun active games to get the kids moving, I highly recommend this Floor Is Lava Board Game

Sidewalk chalk is a great way to entertain the kids and you don’t need to buy it. It is so easy to make at home and inexpensive too. Sidewalk chalk is great for adults who like to draw or doodle too. Grab the kids and find some concrete sit down and have fun.

Looking for more sidewalk chalk crafts? Check out these articles we wrote featuring Sidewalk chalk tutorials, ideas and activities too. We have a popular recipe over on our site too – DIY Sidewalk Chalk .

Making and using sidewalk chalk became very popular in 2020 as decorations and drawings were placed on the streets by children during the lockdown. If you are looking to make your own chalk check out this Sidewalk Chalk paint Kit it uses liquid chalk for squeezing and painting rather than hand drawing with solid sidewalk chalk.

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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