I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. Full Disclosure
Get ready to be the coolest parent on the block! Let your kids use (and make) this completely safe DIY Natural Chalk and you’ll be winning points for sure!
I spent too many hours playing with chalk as a child. Now I have children of my own and after the first few rounds of letting them play with chalk, I knew I didn’t love all the chalk powder own them. One it’s messy but mainly… what in the world is in chalk?
My kids were getting this chalk powder all over themselves (heaven forbid if one of them tried to eat the chalk somehow) and depending on just how close they were to their chalk drawings they were inhaling a bit of the powder too. Not great.
Will it kill them…probably not. However, that doesn’t stop me from wanting the best for my kids. I went hunting for the ingredients in chalk. Turns out most brands of chalk have their ingredients in lock down. Seriously?
What Ingredients Are In Chalk?
I had to dig to find the base ingredient… if the chalk is being made the more traditional way then calcium carbonate is used. (Yay! That’s the stuff I use in my remineralizing toothpaste!) However, some chalk (store-bought and plenty of diy recipes) use Plaster of Paris.
Plaster of Paris even warns on their instructions to take care to not let the skin have prolong contact with this ingredient and to mix it in a well ventilated place. Do you know why? Because as the MSDS sheet states: it can cause cancer, damage to lungs, skin irritation, eye irritation… it goes on.
So calcium carbonate or Plaster of Paris is usually the main ingredient… but since companies do not disclose their ingredients, I do not know what else might be in chalk. Are they dying chalk with natural dyes or artificial? Are they using any other ingredients when mixing up chalk?
I’ve decided to play it safe and make my own. I mean, I already make our own natural playdough, homemade herbal slime, and herbal moon sand so why not chalk?
Plus how cool of a parent are you when you make your own chalk? I believe you score bonus points if you let your kids help make the chalk and with this recipe, it’s safe enough for them to do just that!
DIY Natural Chalk
(makes one small stick of chalk*)
1 tsp. hot water
1/2 tsp. herbal powder (see note)
1 tsp. flour
1 tbs. calcium carbonate
Directions (process photos below)
In a small bowl, combine hot water and herbal powder.
Add in flour and calcium carbonate and start stirring.
You’ll soon have a clumpy mixture which is likely not all in one ball (rather dryish)
Place clumpy pieces in your hand and start smooshing (yes smooshing) the mixture until it’s like putty.
You’ll want to smoosh and kneed it until it’s well mixed and smooth.
Start to roll out the mixture until it forms a chalk stick.
Place on a towel or napkin and move to a safe area for it to dry.
Allow to dry for 2-3 days before using.
Herbal Powder:
Pink – Beet Powder
Yellow – Turmeric
Green – Spirulina (note: some spirulina may be green when wet but dry blue)
Purple – Blueberry Powder
Brown – Cocoa Powder
Black/Gray – Activated Charcoal (may be messy)
*If you want to make more than one stick at a time just double or triple the recipe and you can make 2-3 sticks.
If you want thick pieces of chalk then you’ll likely want to triple the recipe and use it to roll out just one thick stick.
Looking for more non-toxic homemade crafts?
All Natural Playdough
Homemade Herbal Slime
Herbal Window Clings
Herbal Moon Sand
