Exploding Chalk Bags

It’s the first week of summer here in Houston! It’s the time to spend the days at the pool before it’s too hot to swim (yes it happens) and have popsicles be your main food source. Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate this first week with a jam packed week of fun fun fun! But… I’ve been sick since Saturday night.  My kids have been troopers.   Our oldest was sick as well Sunday and Monday but Tuesday she declared herself healed and she was ready to go again.  I just can’t shake it though.  They’ve asked each day if we can go to the pool and I have to gently tell them that I’m still sick.  They ask for fun treats such as cookies and I have to tell them that I’m still sick and just not up to it. There’s been no fun playdates with friends or blueberry picking.  The have been granted unlimited TV and Minecraft access, which is a win in their sights but it’s not “summer”.  So today I decided that I would at least do one fun activity with them.  Last year I saw exploding bags of chalk paint on Pinterest and it seemed like it would be easy to prepare and quick to do so we gathered our supplies and got to work.  It was easy.  I had all of the supplies already in my pantry and it only took about 5 minutes to assemble 6 different bags of liquid chalk.  Then we took them outside, I sat far away from the impending chalk explosions, and we dropped the baking soda into the bag of liquid chalk and ran.  Well it turns out we didn’t really need to run – it does explode but not in a huge “ka-blam!” type way. It simply busts and the chalk paint bubbles and oozes out.  But the bag does swell up really large and it’s a great way to visually show kids the chemical reactions that are taking place. It’s still fun and probably less messy this way. After we had exploded all of our bags the girls played in the chalk paint while I went back inside to rest.  We really did love it.  It’s simple, fun and washes away. What more could you ask for? It’s a great activity when you just want to do something but don’t have much time. If you want to prolong it than you might want to hide a few buckets of chalk paint and big brushes off to the side until you’re done with the bags.  However the end results are just spectacular no matter what you do.  You can find the directions for the Exploding Sidewalk Chalk at Growing a Jeweled Rose.