Sidewalk Chalk “The Setback Age” (Ages 3-8)
When I drove up to the house, my children practically laid down in front of the car, blocking the entrance to the driveway. (I think they decided they have had enough, and didn’t want me around anymore.) Then I discovered they had covered the driveway with artwork using their “blackboard chalk on steroids,” chalk sometimes called, Sidewalk Chalk. It made me ponder whether we might someday see the following headline:
DATELINE: JUNE 14, 3710: CIVILIZATION REGRESSES. A new period of man was discovered today by archeologists. It is being termed the “Setback Age,” because of its primitive form of communication that clearly is a step backwards from previous technological civilizations. The era has been dated between 2000 A.D. and 2500 A.D.
Found fossilized in concrete, somewhere in what used to be North America, were representations of primitive stick people, purple dinosaurs, numbers, and letters, all which appear to be a form of communication. The colorful pictures and writings are believed to have been made from fossilized shells that make a chalky, powdery, limestone substance. Clearly, this age is a large setback from the period that immediately preceded it, the “Silicon Chip Age.”
For all we know, what was termed Egyptian hieroglyphics, representing some of the earliest communication, might really have been done by a bunch of kids playing in a cave. Whether in a cave, or on a patio, street, sidewalk, or driveway, sidewalk chalk allows children to imagine and create in the fresh air, on a large scale, with no boundaries, and no cleanup.
The children can draw:
• Animals
• Faces
• Lines
• Circles
• Letters
• Numbers
• Trees
• Water
When they run out of ideas, I might intervene and help them draw:
• Hopscotch squares
• Path to ride bikes
• Line for a standing broad jump
• Imaginary tightrope to walk
• Circle in which to throw beanbags
• Outlines of a mosaic to fill in
• Foursquare for ball playing
• Squiggles to start a picture
When the children tire of entertaining themselves, they offer, for a small gratuity, to draw a special picture on the neighbor’s driveway. They draw pictures for the people passing over in airplanes for nothing, and they attract friends over to play by offering to draw them for their company.
Sooner or later, Mother Nature passes by, and as I tell my children, “Spots the beautiful artwork below, and unable to hold back the tears, cries in response, washing it all away. At first she is sad, but then realizes she can come by again to behold a whole new series of beautiful work created by beautiful children.”
Rex Bowlby is the father of two boys. He is the author of the book, Why Would I Want the Toy, When I Can Have the Box? (101 Ways to Make the Most of Your Children, With the Least from Your Wallet*) *For parents with children ages 3-8. He lives in Los Angeles, California, USA.