Wet chalk and Beep!

This morning (rainy) we tried a couple quick, no-fuss activities that I thought were worth sharing. I found both of these in The Preschooler's Busy Book.

Wet Chalk Drawings
6 Tbs sugar
1/4 c water
colored chalk
paper, white
Mix together sugar and water and pour over chalk; let soak for ten minutes. Use the wet chalk to draw on white paper. If you use white chalk, draw on colored paper.

What we learned: Rinse the chalks and pat dry after soaking. Creates a smooth, no-smudge line with more saturated color. We only had sidewalk chalk; regular chalk would be better for small-scale drawing. Above photo compares dry and wet chalk drawings.

Beep!
Choose a familiar story, song, or rhyme that your child has heard often. Read or recite the story, song, or rhyme, but substitute wrong words or names in obvious places. For example: "Old MacDonald had a car" or "Mary had a little dog." Have your child listen for the incorrect words and say "Beep!" when he hears one.
(This is listed in the Out and About section of the book. Great for car rides.)

What we learned: Using a Taboo buzzer (which is typically hidden away in grown-up game land) instead of saying "Beep!" was fun for the kids and because they enjoyed listening for the silly words, they actually restricted it's use to beeping in the appropriate places. We enjoyed singing familiar songs and reading a familiar book for this game. Lots of giggles. My daughter wants to play it again after naptime and "show Daddy" when he gets home.