Easy Ideas for Painting on Rocks

Create an art project with rocks that will keep your little ones busy while you garden, and give you great works of art to add to your flower bed later. Kids will have fun painting the varied surfaces of rocks, and might even be willing to help you dig unwanted stones from your garden soil when they run out.

  1. Bug Friends

    • Encourage your children to notice the bugs in the backyard. Ask them what colors and patterns they see. Ask them which bugs help flowers grow and which ones will love living in your garden. Have your children paint their favorite bugs on rocks for the flower bed. Have fun painting the likeness of the bug on one rock, or use several different shaped rocks to create bug bodies they can piece together.

    Flower Friends

    • What kind of flowers are in this garden? How many petals do they have? What colors will we see when our flowers come up? These are fun questions that little ones will love to answer. Show them the flower packets from your seedlings so they have a reference. If you are planting a vegetable garden, have your children paint the different kinds of vegetables on the rocks, as a way to label where you plant each item.

    Patterns

    • Have your children sort the rocks into small, medium and large sizes. Have them paint the sorted rocks with three or four different colors. Use the painted rocks to make a low fence line for your garden, arranged in a pattern that uses big, small and large with the varied colors. Encourage your child to think of different patterns for different areas of the garden. You can even arrange smooth stones in a circular pattern for soft places where a stepping stone would come in handy.

    Hide Smiley Faces

    • Have your children paint faces on rocks. These could be faces of friends or family. Then have your children place the rocks in the garden or hide them around the yard. Have fun playing hide-and-seek as you look for the rocks that your children hide. If you run out of rocks to paint, have your children help clear the flower bed of unwanted rocks with a few safe tools and a little water for cleaning. Use a non-toxic tempera paint that will wash away with water, and you're guaranteed a new opportunity for rock-painting every time it rains.

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