BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KRON) – As parks and beaches are being closed because people were not  self- distancing, families who are following the rules are finding creative ways to stay busy.

‘Sidewalk chalk art’ is starting to pop up in neighborhoods across the Bay Area.

Hearts, flowers rainbows and the solar system are just some of the colorful artwork popping up on sidewalks.

“We saw someone post on Facebook about chalking your walk so being cooped up in the house we thought it would be fun to go out and put some fun sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk​,” Allison Martin said. 

Allison Martin lives in Brentwood.

She and her daughter weren’t the only neighbors who got the urge to get creative.​

“Our neighbors happened to be out at the same time with their kids doing the same thing so it was kinda fun. We kept our distance, they stayed in front of our house, we stayed in front of ours but it was really fun to be out together​,” Martin said. 

“We saw it posted from a couple different places,” Keri Hourigan said.

Same for Keri and Emma Hourigan in Antioch. ​

“I showed my daughter and right away she went outside and got busy with her art,” Hourigan said.​

Keri is a first grade teacher, and has even encouraged her students to use the activity as an art project​.

“I posted it to my first grade students who are working from home, about 3 or 4 of them did chalk art and sent me pictures of that​,” Hourigan said.

Kids in a neighborhood in Martinez decided to chalk the curb creating a ribbon of color all down the street.

Reminders to breathe and encouraging quotes like find joy in the ordinary ​and we’re in this together are common themes throughout.

“The fun part also has been walking the neighborhood, seeing the other drawings other kids have done in the surrounding streets​. I’m just hoping that if anything, this will inspire people to help whomever they can help in this time as we kind of wait out what we gotta wait out,” Martin said.

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