This is probably the easiest activity ever. All you need are some rocks, permanent markers, and a “safe” spot for letting your kid get creative. And of course, by that, I mean some place that permanent markers can be used without getting on anything of significance.
And that’s all!
Toby spent a good amount of time coloring the rocks; he also asked for help putting his name on one.
We actually did this craft while on a road trip, which goes to show you how simple of an activity this can be.
Some activity extension ideas?
- Tracing rock outlines – set the rocks on a piece of paper and trace around them
- Make alphabet rocks – write one letter on each rock, and then practice spelling different words.
- Rock pets – I remember painting rocks with my aunt as a child and into my teens. Sometimes we would put faces on the rocks and then leave them to be found by a random passerby. This could be done with markers too!
- Washable markers – while we used permanent markers, I could totally see this craft happening with any sort of marker. In fact, that just gave me another idea (see the next bullet point!)
- Washing rocks – Toby loves to help wash things, so if we had decorated the rocks with something non-permanent, like chalk or washable markers, I think he would’ve had a ball giving the rocks a “bath” and scrubbing them clean.
- Put googly eyes on rocks – along the lines of those pet rocks I mentioned earlier, what kid doesn’t love googly eyes? Give those pet rocks some character by adding some googly eyes to their faces. I’d actually suggest gluing them on, as the self-stick variety might not work for the uneven surface of some rocks.
- Gluing rocks together – you could make rock snowmen, rock animals, or even a rock monster. Depending on how big your rocks are, you could have the creatures inhabit your garden, or a flowerpot.
Here are a couple snapshots of our activity setup. See how simple it was? Nothing more than rocks, markers, and a sheet of thick paper to protect the table. Toby briefly drew on the paper, but then got involved with decorating the rocks. Click on any image below to enter gallery view mode.
This post is part of an Indoor Activity Blog Hop — Indoor Activities.
Make sure to visit the other blogs below for some fun indoor activities that you can do when the weather’s not conducive to playing outside! This week’s quick and easy activities include: