MISSION VIEJO – Orange, green, yellow and blue hands greet visitors at Del Lago Elementary School. Hundreds of students spent Tuesday morning making chalk mural masterpieces on their playground.

Del Lago celebrated the end of California State Testing with its second annual Chalk Festival.

“Our final day of testing was May 27 so now we’re relaxing a little bit and doing some fun art,” acting Del Lago Elementary Principal Calvin Burt said.

Art is no longer considered a “core curriculum,” but Del Lago parents raised funds to continue art opportunities for students, Patty Roberts, Del Lago’s art advocate, said.

“It’s important to really put art in front of these kids as much as we can,” Roberts said. “Even yesterday, when I was out here sketching, they’d come out at recess and they’d all gather around and they’d say ‘Whoa, we get to do that tomorrow?’ And they’d get so excited. It’s really important to take the opportunity to do these kinds of projects.”

Over the weekend, two parents traced the mural outlines for the students and drew a grid over the image, making the project resemble a paint-by-numbers piece.

The children were brought out of the classroom in groups of three or four and given one square to fill in.

“It’s so fun,” parent Elizabeth Bell said. Bell and her husband volunteered to help Lynn Kearns and Barbara Collins’ fifth grade class draw the Statue of Liberty. “We look forward to it every year. Well, it’s only been two years but there’ll be more.”

Caroline Paltin, a Del Lago parent, suggested having the event last year after learning about street painting from a friend.

“She taught me how and then when I came over here I said, ‘Can we please do this?’ They were like really enthusiastic about it,” Paltin said. “I have a son with special needs, there’s a special needs class here, and they do just as beautiful a job as anyone else. Anyone can do it.”

The first year was met with some apprehension, but when parents and teachers saw the finished murals they decided to make it an annual event.

“I saw the end product last year and it was so exciting and I wanted to be involved with art and creativity so I signed up for this year right away,” Tricia Hanson, a Del Lago parent, said.

The event lasted from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and each student got a chance to work on the mural.

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