Lockdown has finally given us the impetus to create some Chalk Walk Obstacle Courses for our neighbourhood. (See video examples below.) I’ve always wanted to make these, and now that we have started, my son loves making them too.
People often think these chalk obstacle courses are difficult to make, however they’re so fun and you can involve your kids in making them too. We made a bunch of these on our streets for younger and older children, and even made one for an elderly neighbour across the street. It was so fun watching them through our window laugh and do them with friends.
We have done very simple ones by going down our street drawing designated areas for ‘dancing,’ being ‘goofy,’ doing ‘silly walks,’ and drawing Hop Scotch grids which even the older people on our street have loved doing.
And then we have done more complex ones that other kids later added to or made their own versions further down the road.
How chalk obstacle courses develop sensory processing and motor skills:
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- FUN while social
- distancing!
- gross motor skills
- body and spatial awareness
- balance and coordination
- motor planning skills to
- create, plan and execute
- fine and visual motor control
- organisational skills
- emotional regulation
TOP TIP: Check the weather before you draw out your chalk course. We learned the hard way as it sadly rained the day after we made ours a couple of times.
How to create and arrange a chalk walk obstacle course, keeping your child in mind:
When creating your chalk walk obstacle course, you can consider what your child’s sensory and motor needs are and create the chalk obstacle course accordingly.
Here’s an example:
1. Start with a more intense, heavy work component such as jumping or doing press-ups to calm and ground the body.
2. Next, do a balance and / or challenge task such as walking along a wavy line or jumping and turning to build gross motor skills and balance.
3. Have a high energy component (running on the spot for a minute, running for the home stretch) to wake up the body or alert and focus.
4. End with a mindful calming section (e.g. blow out the candles, sniff the flowers, sing a song, or unscramble letters to words, or say affirmations) to calm and settle the body or re-group.
Or just have fun, follow your child’s lead and get them involved in creating these.
Chalk Walk Obstacle Course Examples:
Here are several examples that my son and I have done for our neighbourhood.
Check out our Sensory Chalk Walk Obstacle Courses HERE
