R is for Rocks: Themed Activities

So I typed in rocks to search for my power point to share with you and came up with this hilarious picture of rocks painted like a bunch of M&Ms.  So cute!

If anyone would like a slide show about rocks and minerals, please message me. The slides are to build discussion and begin with slides of famous stone buildings around the world, then types of rocks like quartz and jade, then gems along with the Crystal Gems and then rock based crafts and activities.  Here are some ideas...

1.  Three in a Row.  Mark X or O on 12 stones and chalk out a 9 square frame and have fun.  I do a variation of this by creating 9 square gameboards according to the season or theme.

2.  Paint designs on rocks such as the M&M idea above.  Some people sell their rock art at craft shows.  Others display them in community gardens.  Other gift them to teachers!

3. Place special gems and rocks along with a handprint or footprint in a garden stone project

4. Use a stone to play a game like hopscotch!

5.  Skip rocks on the beach waterfront!

6.  Make story stones.  This is a favourite activity.  You can draw or cut out pictures of random items and glue them onto stones.  ie. a firetruck, a hammer, a spoon, a teddy bear etc.  You pull out a handful of them from a bag and try to use them all in a story you tell.  You can also do it in a circle and each person takes one when the bag reaches them and has to add to the story using the item on that stone. It can become crazy funny!

Beyond these ideas, I would be naming the rocks, minerals and gems.  I would be putting them into alphabetical order or categorizing them.  I would be researching where they are found and how they are mined.  I would be identifying their colours or ordering them by size or counting them, possibly in groups to practice multiplication.  I would be making a trip to a quarry to mine my own rocks (Ontario has great places to do this). 

Rocks are a very cool part of nature with many variables to explore.  They tend to be something most children enjoy too.  Consider the variety of ways you can use them as you build reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and so much more!

I love rocks and we have a huge collection.  My boys used to be part of a great minerology club that was housed in Ontario Science Centre.  They learned so much there.  It was (is?) a fabulous program!  We liked rocks so much that when our family went to India, we packed rocks we had found that were cool and customs was so surprised they were suspicious and put them through a special scanner etc.  We learned that wasn't such a wise move. 

Anyway, this is a topic I could go on and on about. Maybe this time you could share your best rock stories with me!






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