Have you run out of ideas of how to maximize your Cielito’s outside play?  Or maybe you´re just secretly aburrida of playing the same things outside – Like I am!

Well, in order to add a little zing to our outdoor play, we created a new game, which we call, El Juego de Números en Tiza, The Chalk Number Game.  Plus, there are MANY not-well-advertised benefits of exercising and playing outdoors in addition to keeping physically fit.  Exercise helps us develop the hand eye coordination that we need in order to be good readers and the upper body strength needed for pre-writing skills.   But other than that….hey it’s just plain FUN!

Sofía was sooo excited to see the big bright números written in chalk that I almost didn’t need to tell her what to do!  She immediately started running from one número to the next.  (And in the case of the picture above, dancing from número to número.)

What you will need:

• Chalk
• Flat surface space (I used an area about 20 feet X 15 feet but you can adjust the space according to your child’s developmental ability)
• Energía

First, we wrote the números 0-12 outside on the pavement of our driveway.

Then I began our game by telling Sofía to run to número 7 or to jump to número 10!

I progressed to telling her to make like an elephant to número 9!  I ended with timing how long it would take Sofía to run from número 3 to número 12 and so on.  It was muuuy fun!

Of course I couldn’t be the only one in charge all the time!  Soon, Sofía had me skipping and walking like a duck from número to número .  (Notice that she is a bit molesta with me as I am taking photos and not following directions!)

This game really is adaptable for children of ALL ages.  You can use geometric figures or letters of the alphabet instead of números.  For older children, you might call out multiplication sentences like, “What is 5 X 2?” or “What letter does the word vaca begin with?”   If you have artistic ability, then you might even draw pictures of animales  and ask questions about sounds they make, their colors, or where they live.

Whatever you decide to do with this Chalk Number Game, just have your engería, creativity, and tenis ready!

Hope you and yours enjoy this game as much as we did!

іEn sus marcas, listos, … Have Fun!

For more super outside  activities, check out our post on Fun and Easy Science Activities to Introduce Basic Science Vocabulary In Spanish.

To read more about Reading Skills, don’t miss our post on How Reading Skills Transfer Across Languages.