You can paint them, draw on them with Sharpies and/or crayons, or just use them as they are! If you're planning a large program and need oodles of supplies, you can always buy bags of rocks from a hardware store or a garden center. Otherwise, go on an adventure (take the kids on a nature walk, rock out a scavenger hunt, etc.) and gather your supplies!
What do you do with all these rocks once you have them? I'm glad you asked!
How about Kindness Rocks? Sprinkle kindness around like confetti!
Story Rocks (or Story Stones) are a super fun and easy activity that will encourage continued play and exploration! Give the kiddos the stones, a simple prompt--for example: "Choose 5 stones and write a story that incorporates all of them."--and watch them go!
If you're looking for inspiration on additional ways to use your Story Rocks, simply Google and you shall receive what you seek in abundance.
Here's another fun option: Land Art!
This can incorporate rocks, of course, but the possibilities are endless! Check out this article found on The Artful Parent blog where they spoke with Richard Shilling, the author of the Land Art for Kids book series.
You can also create games! Tic-Tac-Toe, Dominos, you name it! Or perhaps a matching game is more your speed? You could decorate stones--or have the patrons decorate stones--to create games to work on matching colors, upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and more!
Here's an adorable fish rock craft from the Hello, Wonderful website:
And another goodie from The Artful Parent: Making Faces with Rocks!
