Process only art art for kids is exactly what it says. It is for the process only and does not take the end product into account.

The point of process only activities, as many of you may very well know is to explore the process of the art activity itself without worrying about the end product.

This particular series is going to explore the different art materials that children often come across and see what kind of experiences  we can give the children using these particular materials.

Pure art and exploration will be the key.

Let them leran the materials and how they can use them.

You can of course combine any of these processes only art activities into an educational arts and crafts projects but that’s not what this series is for.

The material of this post is chalk. below are  7 simple activities that you can do with  even very young children.

1. Use it outside as it says, it’s sidewalk chalk. Get hold of the thick, colorful pieces of chalk often called sidewalk chalk that have lots of colors included. The chalk often comes in a bucket. On a nice day allow the children to go outdoors and color all over the asphalt, sidewalk or any other area that will be easily cleaned up, either by rain or by hosing down with a garden hose.
2. Transfer chalk drawings to paper: If the children express an interest in saving some of their chalk drawings or even if they don’t you can offer them paper to color on with the chalk .  Black or other dark construction paper is often more striking than plain manila or white. Once the children  are done you will need to spray the drawings with hairspray as this helps set the chalk.  It is very important that you only use the hairspray outdoors and do not let the children do it. The spraying should be for adults only.
3. Create a solution of 1/3 c. sugar to 1 cup water. Have the children dip their pieces of chalk into this solution before drawing with the chalk on their papers. This helps brighten the chalk colors and will also help reduce smearing.Using hairspray will work with this activity also.
4. This time around, make the paper wet first and then give the children dry chalk. Have them  use dry chalk on wet paper. You can experiment by giving he children different types of paper wetting each of them before drawing. The best way to make the paper wet is to fill up a rectangular basin with water and lift the papers in and out of it.
5. Instead of making the paper wet with water, give the children paintbrushes and liquid  starch and have them paint the paper with the liquid starch.Use the chalk to color over the paper with the starch on it. (This also brighten chalk colors and helps reduce smudging.)
6. Sand art: Chalk is great for creating sand art. The children can be given a hand grater and along with an adults careful supervision grate the different color chalk into separate bowls. Once you have enough chalk you can do 2 different types of sand art. Firstly you have  the children use a paintbrush and paint some glueonto a  blank sheet of paper. They can then take different colors chalk and sprinkle them where they want to crate a beautiful sand art. They can get really creative by making various shapes and borders with their glue.
7. A second sand art activity is to give children small jars and arrange the different colored chalk in layers to create a sand art bottle. Just be aware that you need alot more sand (chalk) for this  sand art activity that you do for the first.

If the kids get really into making sand art you can check a really cool website that is dedicated to sand art castles

There are many different types of sidewalk chalk
you can get that will give your children hours of fun.

If you want to get really ambitious I found someone who makes homemade sidewalk chalk.