Well . . . we now have three of our grand kiddos staying with us for a few weeks this spring, so I was searching my brain for a few fun craft project ideas yesterday. It was rainy, off and on, and we really were trying to avoid the endless hours of technology, so I came up with a few ideas. After they played games for most of the afternoon, we had to take a trip up to the elementary school to get them enrolled. As we were leaving the school building, there was a garden area by the front doors that was filled with pretty painted rocks that the students had made for an art project. That’s it! I have about a thousand bottles of paint and at least that many paint brushes, so why not send the kiddos out to search for the perfect rocks to paint?
Of course, we’ve painted rocks around here before (actually many times over the years), but I had forgotten about some of the fun, creative projects to do with younger kiddos. Painting rocks can be messy . . . but it is also simple, really a lot of fun, inexpensive, and it keeps them busy for (usually) a rather long time. So I can cook supper. Or fold the laundry. Or pay the bills. Or whatever the next thing is calling my name from my To Do list.
After the girls found a bunch of rocks outside in our flower garden, I had them wash all of the dirt off and then put them on a towel to dry. While the rocks were drying, we went out to the craft room to find the colors of paint that they wanted to use. Of course, there wasn’t the “perfect” purple so we learned how to make purple paint by mixing some of the red and blue paint together. Then we put down some aluminum foil on the kitchen counter, handed each kiddo a paint brush and gave them each a squirt of paint. Voila!
Fun and learning and quiet, all without the use of technology or watching the TV. I’m a genius! Right??? Anyway, they had so much fun painting their rocks that they want to paint more rocks today. So I went looking for a few new ideas to show them and this is what I found. I love the little houses, but they might just want to do the polka dots and stripes . . . but I really want to do the ones with the daily flowers and lace embellishment. Of course I do. That’s what I do with just about everything in my life.
I’m on my way right this minute to get the paints and the rocks out again so they can have another creative adventure, all while it is cloudy and threatening rain again on this beautiful spring day. They start school tomorrow so this will be a fun way to wrap up their little “break” from the daily routine. I think I’m going to try to create a few of my own pretty painted rocks. If you’ve got school age kids that you want to encourage to appreciate creativity, this is such a sweet, simple, inexpensive, and easy project. Give it a try . . . I’m sure your kids will love it as much as mine do (and did, many years ago!).
Pretty Spring Birds with Pink Polka Dot Umbrella via Pinterest
Tiny Fairy House Painted Rocks from Rhythms of Play
Sweetly Simply Painted Rocks from Typically Simple
Bluebird on a Branch Painted Rock from HoliCoffee
Elegant Painted and Lace Embellished Painted Rocks from Plaid Online
After we finish our painted rock project, I’ll share some pictures here with you all so you can see how creative we are! I would love to see what you are working on these days . . . .
