03 September 2011

preschool project / a treasure hunt for rocks






most mornings are all about getting somewhere, making a plan, packing up, meeting up, and making the most of the morning sun. we've had all kinds of adventures this summer. but yesterday we decided to stick around home all day (me in my flannels). i forgot how easy it can be to entertain (and educate) a child with the simplest of materials. our favorite activities come to us by almost accident.

benj (and his bear) took a ride in the wagon and i noticed all the pretty gray hues of the rocks as we went by. (who needs paint swatches with pretty pebbles nearby!?) we decided to collect them. benji loved picking them up and putting them in his wagon. we sat right down and talked about their surface texture, colors and sizes. he lined them up all the way around the interior edges of the wagon. (i love watching him make his own decisions like that.) my favorite rocks are the smooth gray kind that have 'stripes' through them. i always consider them lucky. benji particularly liked the clunky, speckly granite rocks which we think resembles oreo ice cream.

we drove them up to the front porch and washed them all clean in grandma's galvanized bucket. benji washed them one by one. i tried to let him lead the activity, taking all the time in the world. we then sorted them by color, lining them up, counting them and admiring our work. then leaving them out as a rock installation for daddy (and passerbys) to enjoy.

p.s. do your children have end-of-summer sandal tans like mine does? oh and what about temporary dino tats?! benji is pretty stoked about the one on his arm.

8 comments:

[eeny] said...

i love that kids find joy in playing with the simple things.
sounds like a great morning playing with rocks. you sure found some extra pretty ones.

Victoria said...

The whole time I was reading this, I just kept thinking, "She's such a good mom!" :)

Travelin'Oma said...

You totally rock!

K said...

My son (now seven) has never outgrown this. We can't go anywhere without carting a few home in the pockets, selected for a smoothness, color, shimmer, shape, something. I can't do a load of laundry without at least one rumbling around in the dryer. We have several jars around the house dedicated to rock collections of what, to the untrained eye, might seem like average rocks (as well as a healthy stick collection by the back door.) It's one of the things I love about boys.

Naomi Bulger said...

So sweet. I can remember doing this myself! When I got a little older, I used to smash the rocks open with a hammer to see what was inside. Simple pleasures, indeed.

Moments and Impressions said...

Those rocks are gorgeous! I too love the stripey ones. Our daughter has gained a sandal tan on her feet... so cute.

Anonymous said...

I recently decided to pick up bottles and cans I find along the streets on my morning walks with my son. Good lesson on cleaning up and recycling for my son. I did not make an announcement to him I just started doing it...after I picked up the first he says "mommy look there's another one" pointing over to a plastic bottle. I think he will enjoy pointing them out to me from now on...

Cassie said...

Even now, at over 30 years of age, I have, many a time, come back from our local beach with a crick in my neck from spending far too much time looking for pretty pebbles on the beach. Finding just the right one to pop in your pocket never gets old!
xx

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