When we used to live in the US there was this cute trend of hiding painting rocks for the public to find. We only ever found one, but the kids used to love looking for them. They were a little young to get the concept of painting them and then hiding them for others to find.
Cut to now, and they are old enough to participate more fully in this fun game.
Even better, we had received a rock painting kit as a present, and then I saw another one on sale the other day so decided to get it and let them each have a kit of their own (some battles are just not worth fighting).
Each of the kits contained some rocks, a book and the necessary paints. Of course, there is no need for an actual kit and you could easily find some rocks in your neighbourhood and just use acrylic paints.
If you would like them to last a long time out in different weather conditions, I would recommend that you seal them, once painted.
Offer lots of opportunities and different implements to encourage them to develop their pencil grip, without overcorrecting or making it into a battle.
Mr 4 naturally progressed to this more age appropriate pencil grip throughout the activity without any pressure or persuasion
It was very cute to see her concentrating so hard and really focused on her task
Miss 4 is still experimenting with handedness.
Most agree that a dominant hand should be apparent by about 5 years old and well established by 6 years of age. If you have a preschooler who is still switching their hand a lot during a task, consider if they have any difficulty crossing the midline, as this can play a part.
With Miss 4 being the sensory seeker that she is, inevitably she progressed from a paintbrush to using her hand. And you can see the absolute delight on her face throughout the process.
After they had painted some rocks they realised that they had an unending supply outside and off they went. I really love when an activity takes on a life of its own just as this one has!
Even mumma got to join in the fun!
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