Recipe: Craft Activity: Puffy Sidewalk Paint

Craft Activity: Puffy Sidewalk Paint

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• craft :

  to plan and create objects from found or available items or ready-made patterns for purposes that are decorative, functional, or both.

• imagine :

  to form a mental image of a new or different idea, design, food dish, or food combination; or to think creatively to do something or make something in a new way.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• pour :

  to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.

• squeeze :

  to firmly press or twist a food with fingers, hands, or a device to remove its liquid, like shredded potatoes, frozen and thawed spinach, or tofu.

• stir :

  to mix together two or more ingredients with a spoon or spatula, usually in a circle pattern, or figure eight, or in whatever direction you like!

History of Sidewalk Art!

• The art of street painting began in the 16th century with the Italian "Madonnari," artists who worked in the large cathedrals. When their work in the cathedrals was complete, they would reproduce some of their paintings of the Madonna and other icons on the pavement to collect coins from appreciative bystanders. They would often travel to towns during festivals and holy days when more people were present to earn a living. They were known to use chalk, coal, or tiles to create their art, which sometimes appeared to be three-dimensional.
• Pavement artists, called "screevers," were popular in Britain in the late 1800s. They drew pictures with chalk, sometimes accompanied by poetry and political commentary. The character of Bert, the chimney sweep, in the movie Mary Poppins was also a screever.
• Today, chalk artists of all ages can be found in many communities. Sidewalk chalk art competitions are popular during various festivals, including festivals dedicated to the art itself.
• The Guinness World Record for the largest display of chalk pavement art, consisting of 944 chalk drawings, was completed on September 7, 2019, by the Novitas BKK company in Itzehoe, Germany. Their theme was "Fürsorge," German for "care," "provision," or "welfare."
• On September 12, 2015, the Guinness World Record for longest chalk pavement art, at 18,760 feet and 11 inches, was drawn in Greeley, Colorado, by the City of Greeley. The theme used by city residents was "Celebrating Nature."

Let's Learn About Italy!

• Italy became a unified country in 1861, only 150 years ago. It is sometimes called "bel paese" or "beautiful country."  
• Italians invented the piano and the thermometer! 
• In ancient Roman mythology, two twin brothers named Romulus and Remus founded Rome, Italy's capital city. The myth says the twins were abandoned and then discovered by a she-wolf before being found and raised by a shepherd and his wife. Eventually (and after many exciting adventures), they found themselves at the location of Palatine Hill, where Romulus built "Roma." The Italian wolf became Italy's unofficial national animal. 
• In the 1930s and 40s, Mussolini, Italy's prime minister, and dictator tried to eliminate all foreign words from the Italian language. How did he do that? He just changed them! For example, in soccer, "goal" became "meta." Disney character names changed, too: Donald Duck became "Paperino;" Mickey Mouse became "Topolino;" and Goofy became "Pippo." Although they're not banned anymore, these words and names have stuck. So now if you go to the Italian Disneyland, called Gardaland Park, you will see Topolino and Pippo! 
• About 60 million people call Italy home, and it is 116,350 square miles, slightly larger than the US state of Arizona. If you compare that to the United Kingdom, 67 million people live there, and it is about 94,350 square miles. So, the UK is smaller than Italy but has a bigger population! 
• The Italian flag is green, white, and red. These colors represent hope, faith, and charity.
• The average Italian eats close to 55 pounds of pasta annually. If you think about how light pasta is, that is a considerable amount! There are more than 500 different types of pasta eaten in Italy today. 

What's It Like to Be a Kid in Italy?

• Kids begin school at 6 years old. They grow up speaking Italian, but they learn English in school, so many become bilingual in Italian and English.
• The most popular sport for kids is football (soccer). The Italian word for soccer is "calcio," the same word they use for "kick." A favorite of younger kids is "Rody, the bouncing horse," a plastic horse that a small child can hop onto and bounce around the room. Rody was invented in Italy in 1984.  
• The family ("la famiglia") is a central characteristic of Italian life. Children have great respect for their older relatives. It is traditional to name the first male child after the grandfather and the first female child after the grandmother.
• If kids live close to school, they can go home and have lunch with their families! Lunch at school might be pasta, meat with vegetables, a sandwich, or a salad with lots of ingredients. Families typically eat dinner later (7 to 8 pm), so kids end up staying up later, too!
• Between lunch and dinner, kids often enjoy "merenda," which is an afternoon snack that translates to "something that is deserved." It is really a mini-meal that can include both savory and sweet foods. Examples of savory foods are a salami or mortadella sandwich, a slice of rustic bread rubbed with a cut, raw tomato, or "pizza bianca" (white pizza without tomato sauce). Types of sweet foods eaten during merenda are "gelato" (a lower-fat type of ice cream), any kind of cake, or biscotti dipped in warm milk.