We recently spent an afternoon painting rocks that we have collected on our nature walks and some that we gathered from our garden beds. It was a lovely way to spend some time together outside, creating our little pieces of art.
The rocks have become a favourite play item for R (4 yrs) and he’s brought them out almost every day. I have been thinking about new ways to play with them and thought a treasure hunt might be fun. R really loves treasure hunts and he had great fun collecting moon rocks during his space birthday party so I knew this activity would be a hit.
I hid some rocks in the flower pots, some within foliage and others I left just lying on the lawn.
I love treasure hunts as much (possibly more!) than R. It’s so much fun hiding little treasures like this inside the plants, just waiting to be discovered.
Once the rocks were hidden, the hunt was on! It was like Easter morning. R squealed with delight as each rock was uncovered.
Soon his zip lock bag was full of painted rock treasures.
Then it was R’s turn to hide the rocks and my turn to find them. He pretended to have forgotten where he had hidden them so that he could search for the treasure again. Too sweet! We were actually finding colourful rocks all over the garden for the next few days.These painted rocks have been one of the loveliest crafts we have done together. I’m looking forward to sharing with you some of the other ways we have played with them.
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Do you know how much I love this? Art and gardens – you know that’s just my kind of thing. Great colours too.
Thank you Cathy! The entire afternoon was so wonderful. I think this has to be one of my favourite activities that we’ve done.
This is delightful! I need to paint some rocks with my littles – thank you for the inspiration!
Beautiful photos, too!
We had a lovely afternoon painting these rocks . I’m sure your little ones would absolutely love it. Thank you for your kind words about the photos too.
What a fun and creative idea, I think my little man would love this activity! Thanks for sharing
Kxx
Thank you K! This was such a fun activity and the best part has been that we’ve come up with so many different ways to play with this rocks.
This is so sweet. My son likes treasure hunts also. He likes to hide them over and over again in the same places – it’s too funny.
That is so cute that he likes to hide them in the same places over and over. Sounds a bit like R when we are playing hide and seek. He always hides in the same spot and he calls out “hello” so we can find him!
These look great! And what a wonderful activity for these sunny days!
Thank you Bek. We’ve played so many different games and activities with these rocks. Definitely a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon.
My daughter would love this. She loves rocks A LOT. So much that all she asked for for Christmas last year was “a pink rock”. And that’s what she got…as well as a few other things, of course.
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That is SO cute. Kids are gorgeous, aren’t they? R has a little collection of “treasures” and I love watching what he adds to it, usually the most simple, ordinary things.
What a fun idea! I love the colors and designs on the rocks. This is an activity that you can do again and again and still find joy in the search!
Exactly Gina! There’s so much to an activity like this – finding the rocks, time spent creatively painting them, then making up games for them. We done the treasure hunt, a zen garden, a sensory tub, sorting games and stacking them into little sculptures. So many possibilities.
Those rocks look so colourful and inviting – the best treasure hunt ever! Miss Possum spied them over my should and wants to try them out tomorrow. Now we have to go hunting for rocks!
Thank you Penny! That is so cute that Miss Possum saw them and wants to make some. Hope you have fun!
How fun are those rocks? Such bright and vibrant colors. That is a great “game” too! I need to find some rocks now!
Thanks so much for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday. We hope to see you next week.
Thank you so much Christie! I love tip-toe through Tuesday. Thanks for hosting such a fab linky.
Those rocks are just so pretty! I love the idea of a treasure hunt. Haven’t done much of them with the boys, but will put it on my to do list. Oh and have to get some rocks!
Thank you Stephanie! You could do an indoor treasure hunt too. I bet the boys would love it.
lovely idea… now we need to go collect some nice smooth stones!
Thanks Kate! Yes, smooth ones are the way to go. Some of ours were quite porous so it took a few coats of paint to cover them properly. I bet your kids will love this. R had a blast.
We,ve painted rocks by never thought to hide and hunt. Great idea! New follower from Enchanted Ho0meschooling Mom Linky party. Hope you can follow me back! Be blessed.
Hello Julie! Thank you for stopping by and welcome to the blog. Aren’t painted rocks wonderful? So many possibilities for fun and creativity. Thank you for the follow. I’ll be sure to follow you back.
those are soooo pretty! what a fun activity! and when you’re done you can put them in a bowl as decoration! thanks for linking up to tip-toe thru tuesday!
Thank you Andie! Oh I love the idea of putting them on display too. I might have to do that.
How fun! I have painted rocks with the kids but I have never done a treasure hunt with them. Great idea! Thank you for linking up this week to my Enchanted Thursdays Blog Hop!
Thanks Jill! There’s so many possibilities with painted rocks. We’ve made up all sorts of games for them. Thank you for hosting the Enchanted Thursdays Blog Hop. It is such a wonderful linky.
So many wonderful elements to this activity.
I especially love the rock in your title image. It looks like purple cabbage hiding in the veggie garden.
Thank you Jackie. Yes, I think that rock is one of my favourites. I love that purple and there’s something special about the way the colour pops against the green of the leaves.
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Hey Ness! I love this! The rocks are so pretty. I have some rocks like this under our porch and you’ve inspired me to pretty them up a bit! I can totally see J loving this activity.
I’m featuring this tomorrow on my Kid’s Co-op post tomorrow. Come on by and see it! http://www.dirtandboogers.com
Thank you Amanda!! We had the loveliest afternoon painting these rocks. We’ll have to find some more to paint. I’m looking forward to seeing yours.
This is such a wonderful idea. Little A is only 19 months but I think she would really enjoy not only painting them but hunting for them as well. I’m new here coming over from the Sunday Showcase. I will definitely be following you blog. Thanks so much for the post.
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I adore these rocks, they are beautiful! And love that you made a treasure hunt with them.
Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty! Off to pin.
Maggy
Love this idea. Our children love rocks so I think this will be a great activity for us as we head towards Summer.
Karen (Flights of Whimsy)
I love that you used your beautifully painted rocks in an outdoor treasure hunt! I’m featuring this idea on the Sunday Showcase.
This is a great idea. My 3 yo has recently gotten more excited about painting, and I think he would like painting rocks. The hunt would be fun for him too. We made pumpkins from orange milk caps (which I shared on my blog) and he loved it when I hid them in the backyard for him to find. I also hid them along a walk and he found them on our walk back home.
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