Rocks on the brain

I am a fan of rocks.

Big ones, little ones, smooth ones, odd shaped or coloured ones, they call to me in a way that other things in nature do not.
I'm not sure why, though I have geologists in my both my husband's family and my own extended family.
Not blood related to me though, so I can't claim familial tendency.
I stand corrected by my big sis, SHE has a geology background, so there ya go, it IS in my immediate family.

I do remember driving my parents just a wee bit crazy with the amount of rocks I used to collect and when they upped sticks and moved countries some years back, they still had a few boxes of my rocks in their house.

Needless to say, I have curbed my collection somewhat, though I do find myself encouraging my boys to pick up and closely inspect any rock that takes their fancy, I just can't seem to help myself.

And rocks are thrifty as far as entertainment goes, there are endless varieties and often there are plenty of free places to collect them from.
Another positive, if the kids....or you....get sick of the rock collection, they can be returned to nature.

So what to do with all the rocks they collect?
(Just so you know, they do not collect them from a natural source, but from a communal rock garden down the street.)

This time we painted them.


And see our recycled paint containers?
Egg cartons are perfect for this, they don't spill or tip over and they can be tossed in the recycling once you're done.


Older kids can (try) to paint shapes, faces or bugs on their rock...


And little ones can just paint........whatever.

Really, the fun at this preschool age is in the act of painting and not so much in the finished product.


And at the end, my two will invariably paint their hands.

Have you painted on your skin? It's a bit of a cool feeling and in summer, maybe I'll let them get nekkid and paint their whole selves.

But, back to the business at hand.

I love this activity on so many levels because.....

It's cheap. Er, I mean thrifty.
It involves outside time while collecting (although we have painted outside in nice weather)
It involves paint.
And rocks.
And concentration from wee people.
And mess that is usually confined to one table and two children.

All things I can deal with on an average mum-at-home-with-two-kids day.


9 comments:

  1. Excuse me - but last time I checked I WAS blood related to you missie. And I happened to be trained in geology!!! Our kids love rocks too - collecting them and painting them! And don't egg cartons make fabulous paint containers - we use them at school too.

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  2. Oops, sorry sis! See title of my post, haha! Re egg cartons, H's pre-school class won't take egg cartons because someone in one of the classes has an egg allergy, sigh.

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  3. What a great idea! My son "collects" rocks on the way home from day care - I should pick up some paint so he can decorate them (although right now his favorite part is throwing them into the gutter).

    I've got a blog award for you over at today's post. No pressure to accept - I just love your blog and wanted to let you know.

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  4. Cute! My 9 year old daughter loves rocks so much she's saving up for a Rock Tumbler!!

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  5. I always wanted a rock tumbler as a kid, maybe I should look into it again. Ooh, another obsession for me, lol...

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  6. This looks like it was a blast!
    I'm your latest follower through Friday blog hop! I hope you'll stop by my blog at http://scfitz1972.blogspot.com and say hello.
    Sharon☺

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  7. Debbie - Thanks so much for the award! Blogging is a lot of fun and even more fun when other people get into it with you!

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  8. I now have a reason to keep the egg cartons! What a great idea!

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  9. I love rocks too, especially the giant craggy boulders down on the coast where the waves crash. When I was in high school I found a picture in a magazine of a "rock" band. Smooth rocks of various sizes, with faces, hair and clothes from sewing box scraps, cardboard guitars and a miniature toy drum kit. I tried to make my own version, but I'm not at all crafty and it never did look good.

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