Rocks Rock!!

All kids love rocks!  Walking down the driveway with my 17 month old grand daughter, the first thing she did was pick up a rock - and she held on to the rock, through spills and tumbles, until it was time to go inside.  I think the love of rocks is instinctual.  So why not use these abundantly available resources for exploration and learning.

I have fun ways to use rocks in your child's learning.  So go grab some rocks and join me.

#1 You can paint rocks.  Remember a couple of years ago, people would paint rocks and leave them for other people to find?  It was always exciting to see those brightly colored and fun rocks "hidden" in unexpected places.  This is an easy, quick and inexpensive way to be creative.  And bonus, it will brighten someones day.
Just gets some rocks and some paints and maybe some fine tipped permanent markers and go to town.  Use bright colors and positive images or sayings on your rocks.  Stumped for ideas?  Check out Pinterest it is loaded with clever ideas that you can borrow.


#2 You can use rocks for math practice.  Make up word problems about the stones you have collected.  I found 3 black rocks and 2 pink rocks.  How many rocks did I find?  Or I have 9 rocks in my pocket when I left the beach.  When I got home I had 5, and a big hole in my pocket!  How many rocks did I lose?
You could use a permanent marker and write numbers on the rocks, put them in a bag and draw out 2 rocks.  Which one is greater?  Which one is least?
Using the same rocks with numbers, pull one out.  Say the number and tell which number comes before or after.
Start out numbering your rocks 1-10, but as you learner progresses you can make a new set of rocks the the numbers 11-20 on them for more fun.  The possibilities are endless.


#3  Use rocks to reinforce sorting.  Have your child sort out a pile of rocks.  When they are done try to guess the characteristics they used.  Use this activity as a jumping off point to talk about group by attributes.  Even very little kiddos can do this activity and its a great way to have some quality conversation time with your children.



#4 Use rocks to make letters and then as your child progresses, words.  You can practice sight words or any other type of words this way.   How fun to write your CVC words by making the letters with rocks.  You could also write individual letters on the rocks with a permanent marker for these activities.





#5 Buy a rock book or borrow one from the library.  Try to identify the kinds of rocks that you have found and learn all about it. You could have each family member choose a rock type to be the expert on. You could go to the beach and search for specimens of your type of rock for a rock show at home.   In my area, we hunt for agates and Yooperlites, among many other types of rocks.  Its fun to be together on the beach with you family enjoying nature and each other.

I hope these ideas have encouraged you to get outside and learn.

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