Ice Chalks

At last we were finally been successful with our ice chalk recipe. It has been a bit of a trial and error, the first lot separated and we were left with a watery layer on top of the cornflour, second lot went lumpy, third lot too thick,  so on our fifth lot we got it just right :)

So to make these beautiful chalks, you need to boil some water first (you need hot, not boiling water as you'll get the wrong consistency).

In a jug add 7 heaped tea spoons of cornflour and blend with some cold water to a very thick paste.

Then make up to 200ml with the hot water and stir, you should have a lovely thick white mixture, that doesn't separate or goes like cornflour gloop.

Pour in an ice cube tray and mix in your food colouring.

Place in the freezer, when frozen, pop out of tray and have some fun. Please note for some reason unlike the ice paints and home made finger paints this will stain fingers.

The ice chalks will slowly melt, so some patience is needed to begin with and when they have finished and the water has evaporated you are left with lovely chalk pictures. The children were really interested in the different textures you felt as the ice chalks slowly melted. Another lovely creative, cooling activity for a hot day and all ages enjoyed.

We did discover that to get the best from the chalks, it's best to use them when the patio is hot, as the chalks melt better as you can see from the different pictures.