ROCKS. Super fun, right? I mean, what could be more fun than a small, dirty, lifeless nodule found pretty much everywhere? Well, five-year-old Kat would have had a hard time thinking of something more fun than rocks. I can thank my mom for that. One summer while we were spending a really long time visiting my grandparents my mom made a bunch of rock dolls for me. I’m pretty sure the lack of toys at their house and the lack of stores in their small town made me whiny. Fortunately, my poor mom has always had the gift of creativity. She hit the parenting jackpot with this activity. I remember playing with these A LOT that Summer and for several years after that. I think they were tossed out at some point and it still makes me cringe a little at the thought of never seeing my dear rock friends again.
Now that my son is turning three and beginning to really delve into dramatic play, I knew that I could resurrect the joy that is the rock doll. This activity and toy cost me a whopping $2…and that’s because I had to buy the rocks. If you have lots of rocks around your own house, then you can bust this activity out for a buck. All you need are some rocks, wiggly eyes and glue. I got the first two at the dollar store and already had the glue.
This is such a simple activity and really requires little skill or “craftiness”. ALL I ASK IS THAT YOU DO THIS ACTIVITY WITH YOUR CHILD.
First, and most importantly, rocks and wiggly eyes are all choking hazzards, so yeah, be safe. Secondly, there is so much value to come from doing this kind of activity with your kiddo: you get to have fun, you get to explore creatively, you bond with each other, your child works on fine motor skills, and language is developed. There are more benefits, but I’ll stop there.
All you need to do is put some dabs of glue on the rocks, add the eyes and wait a bit for them to dry.
You can draw faces on the rocks if you want, but it’s really not necessary. The child will imaginatively complete the character’s development and, besides, some of the rocks end up looking like they have their own mouths anyway. Aren’t these super cute?
Once the glue is dry, you guys can go to town developing the mystical world in which your new rock friends live. You can thank my mom for this one. E and I sure do.
