I found this awesome activity on Instagram, and I immediately realized that it would be a great practical life work for L!  I gathered some of the materials and waited for the weather to warm up a bit.

When we finally had a nice day outside, I set up this work for L as soon as she woke up from nap.  I got out a small grater (like this one!), three bowls, three sticks of chalk in L’s requested colors, three small paintbrushes, and a pitcher of water.  If you have young children, you probably already own all of those materials.  L was so excited to “make paint” as she had been calling it all day, and she immediately jumped right in.

First I showed L how to rub a stick of chalk on the grater.  I really like this grater because it has a little compartment to collect the chalk dust in as you grate.  Grating is not a work that I have put out yet for L, so this was a nice introduction.

Next I gave L a pitcher of water and told her to pour some into the bowl with the chalk dust.  Here’s a mommy-mess-up-moment:  she poured WAY too much water in the first time.  My wonderful adoring husband (he really is, just being sarcastic here…) goes, “Well, Ang, you didn’t set her up for success.  There’s way too much water in that pitcher.”  Sigh.  Which one of us is the Montessorian, again?  He was totally right.  For the third color, I poured most of the water out of the pitcher so there was only the perfect amount left.  You really hardly need any water for this — maybe just a tablespoon or two.

Finally I told L to stir the water and chalk dust with her paintbrush.  This was probably her favorite part — the girl LOVES to stir stuff for some reason.

Then we painted!  I had a little fun with it, too.  The colors were very vibrant and easy to paint with.  Since it’s made of chalk, it will wash away when it rains.  L painted the patio for a while, then she tried it out on some leaves and tree bark before ending her painting experience by painting the door of her playhouse.  Overall, the activity lasted about an hour and a half.  It was super easy to make and is something even a two-year-old can help with!