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Hi Aron,

 

I wanted to run this art idea by you to see if you would be
okay with a parent group doing this with the kids this year.   I have
spoken with a few parents and everyone seems to like the idea (easy,
inexpensive, kid-friendly).  A short video and photos sum it up here:


http://www.boredpanda.com/my-kids-and-i-spent-a-year-painting-over-1000-rocks-and-hid-them-for-people-to-spot-and-photograph-during-the-worlds-largest-artprize/

 

The idea is to have kids each bring two rocks to school (of
a small size).  Each class would have a designated colour.  All
students paint two rocks with the same face in their class colour, each child
using different expressions... one painted rock stays at the school to go in
the raised garden bed by the side door to the gym, and one is put out in the
community elsewhere (maybe HS Bay/Gleneagles area) for people to find and
photograph, maybe share on social media for the older grades.

 

I would be happy to lead the initiative.  My thought is
to use the Visual Arts Team of parents, supplemented by other volunteers. 
We would use the art room, and supplies paid for by the PAC.  The parents
would give the classes a little talk on the project and provide some ideas for
unique facial expressions and to guide each class through.  We would help
with set up and clean up in the art room.

 

The only things I think we would need from you would be a)
permission :) b) reserved time in the art room - maybe 1 hour per class c) a
schedule for when we could come in for each class.  Ideally, we could
start the project in early November and complete by Christmas, or just after if
more time was needed.                                       I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

Thanks,

Sara Gardner

c 604-908-1161

 

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Hi Aron,

 

I wanted to run this art idea by you to see if you would be
okay with a parent group doing this with the kids this year.   I have
spoken with a few parents and everyone seems to like the idea (easy,
inexpensive, kid-friendly).  A short video and photos sum it up here:


http://www.boredpanda.com/my-kids-and-i-spent-a-year-painting-over-1000-rocks-and-hid-them-for-people-to-spot-and-photograph-during-the-worlds-largest-artprize/

 

The idea is to have kids each bring two rocks to school (of
a small size).  Each class would have a designated colour.  All
students paint two rocks with the same face in their class colour, each child
using different expressions... one painted rock stays at the school to go in
the raised garden bed by the side door to the gym, and one is put out in the
community elsewhere (maybe HS Bay/Gleneagles area) for people to find and
photograph, maybe share on social media for the older grades.

 

I would be happy to lead the initiative.  My thought is
to use the Visual Arts Team of parents, supplemented by other volunteers. 
We would use the art room, and supplies paid for by the PAC.  The parents
would give the classes a little talk on the project and provide some ideas for
unique facial expressions and to guide each class through.  We would help
with set up and clean up in the art room.

 

The only things I think we would need from you would be a)
permission :) b) reserved time in the art room - maybe 1 hour per class c) a
schedule for when we could come in for each class.  Ideally, we could
start the project in early November and complete by Christmas, or just after if
more time was needed.                                       I'd love to hear your thoughts!

 

Thanks,

Sara Gardner

c 604-908-1161

 

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Education Program

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The Moth Education Program works with young people and educators to build community through storytelling workshops, performances and innovative resources.

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Homemade story stones are a great addition to any playroom or classroom. They're great as story-telling prompts and for narrative play. They're so fun and easy to make, and your kids will get years of enjoyment out of them.

When I first learned about story stones, I knew right away that I needed to make some homemade story stones of my own because A) the crafter in me loves making homemade toys, and B) the hooligans LOVE playing with stones. We have quite a large collection of stones and rocks of all sizes here at my home daycare. You can see how we play with our some of our stones here.

Recently, I made a this large set of story stones for my daycare. Story stones would also be great in a classroom or a preschool or even for fun and learning at home.

I had such a fun time making them, and the hooligans are enjoying them in all kinds of ways.

Let me tell you what story stones are, how you can use them in a playful and educational way, and how easy they are to make.

So, what ARE story stones exactly?

Story stones are simply smooth, flat stones that you can find at the beach or even at a craft store. Each stone has a picture of a character or animal or object on it. You can make a story stone by painting a picture on it, you can use stickers, you can draw on your stone with a permanent marker, or like us, you can use magazine cutouts or fabric scraps to make your story stones. **More about how I made ours in a bit.

How do you USE story stones for play?

Story stones can be used in many ways:

You can use them as story tell aides: the children choose a stone from the basket, and start a story based on the picture on the stone that they've chosen. Another stone is drawn from the basket, and the story continues, incorporating this next picture into it. One child can be telling this story, or you can pass the basket around at circle time, so that each child draws a stone, and adds another sentence to the story.

The stones can also be used for creative play: The hooligans often use the story stones at whatever centre they're playing at. Ours are often used as:

characters in the dollhouse

animals at our farm cemter

in conjunction with our building blocks

as food in the play kitchen

Sorting and grouping activities: The hooligans love to sort our story stones. The kids will pile up all of the people stones, and then they'll find the animals, and the food stones. The holiday stones go into another pile, and so on. These sorting and organizing activities help with early math skills.

The kids will also line the stones up in a long row. They can be used to make a large circle or square on the floor.

There's no right or wrong way to play with the stones. They're open-ended, and they foster creative and critical thinking. We LOVE them.

Now that you now WHAT story stones are, and how to play with them, let's move on to making them!

As I said earlier, there are a number of ways to make story stones, but this is how I made ours.

How I made our story stones:

First I raided my fabric stash for cottons and flannels that had animal prints on them. I cut out a few animal shapes, and then i moved on to a stack of magazines and old craft books that I'd picked up at a second hand shop a few years back. The craft books were fabulous.

The books were intended for a stained glass-painting type of craft. Of course, being in a second hand shop, the paints didn't come with them. I just thought the pictures might come in handy one day, so I bought them, and tucked them away for a rainy day. The pages were heavier in weight than a regular magazine, and the colours were vibrant. The pictures in the book were just perfect for my project. Hello, rainy day!

To make your story stones, put a puddle of Mod Podge on a stone, and then place the cut-out in the puddle, and use your fingers to smooth out any air bubbles. With a sponge brush, smooth and dab a little modge-podge over the cut-out, pressing around the edges with your fingers, to get a good seal between the paper and the stone.

If you're unfamiliar with Mod Podge, oh my... you need to get some. It's like liquid gold for crafters, but not nearly as expensive - hee hee. Seriously. You can use it in SO. MANY. WAYS. Most commonly, it's used for decoupage. If you're unfamiliar with the technique, you can find out what decoupage is here.

Check out this amazing round up of Mod Podge crafts for kids over at, where else... Mod Podge Rocks.

The quilt fabric was the easiest to work with because the material was thin and flimsy, and molded to the rock easily. The magazine pictures worked well too, because of their thinness. The craft book cut-outs were quite a bit thicker (similar to glossy card-stock), and required more pressing and smoothing, but they turned out great!

If you don't want to go to the trouble of using mod podge to make your story stones, you could simply apply assorted stickers to your stones, and then give them a coat of varnish for protection.

Whether you're using mod podge or craft varnish, be sure to let your stones dry thoroughly before tossing them all into a basket for storing. If they're not completely dry, they could stick together. I let mine dry for a couple of days until they no longer felt tacky.

Story stones provide a super opportunity for imaginative play, and there's some great sensory stuff going on too: the colours are vibrant, they're cool to the touch, and for me there's something soothing about the sound of stones clacking together as you play with them.

Aren't they cute? I'm so pleased with the way they turned out.

Get 3-5 Playful Preschool e-Book!
Download your copy today:
25+preschool activities by 25 bloggers, 10 printables, 50 links to activities not featured in the book all for $8.99!

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Cut out pictures from books, magazines and leftover fabric to make these awesome story-telling aids!

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Ok, I have a WONDERFUL little project to share with you today, and if you're a creative teacher or caregiver or parent, you will love it. I made these story stones for my daycare, using stones collected from the beach, and cut-outs from magazines and fabric swatches.

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We've done a lot of rock arts and crafts in our home, but we have yet to make story stones. It's on our activity list for this afternoon, though, and I can't wait!

In preparation, I've collected a few resources and posts with story stones ideas...

There are so many ways to make story stones!

I've seen story stones made with a variety of materials, including:
(I haven't decided which way to do it ourselves yet. Probably acrylic paint. But really, I want to try them all.)
And the sky's the limit in terms of the items you depict on your stones. Or how you use your story stones to tell a story.

5 Story Stones Ideas

Story Telling Stones (on Emily Neuburger)

Emily Neuburger is also the author ofthe popular book, Show me a Story: 40 Craft Projects and Activities to Spark Children's Storytelling, which is wonderful.
How to Paint and Play with Story Stones
(Note: This was on Paint on the Ceiling, which is no longer available. But as you can see from the photo above, you can draw or paint simple images on each rock to represent various story elements.)

Combine Simple Story Stones with Sidewalk Chalk Scenes (on Inner Child Fun)

Make Your Own Story Stones with Magazine Collage (on Mommy Labs)

Mix and Match Rock Faces (on Teach Beside Me). These last ones aren't technically story stones, but could easily be used for storytelling and for talking about feelings and expressions.

If you're looking for ideas on how to use your story stones, check out these story stone task cards, written for use in a classroom, but great for home as well.

By the way, if you like the idea of story stones, but don't want to make your own, there are some amazing ones available on Etsy. I especially like these fairy tale story stones by Thrive 360 Living (she has made lots of wonderful sets!) but you can also just search for "story stones."

Have you made story stones? What technique did you use?
And if you like rocks as much as we do, you might also enjoy our other Artful Parent rock-related posts: Pin It for Later

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Story Stones Ideas for Kids - 5 Great Ways to Make them & Use them

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We've done a lot of rock arts and crafts in our home, but we have yet to make story stones. It's on our activity list for this afternoon, though, and I can't wait! In preparation, I've collected a few resources and posts with story stones ideas...

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Stones soup...stones used to heat beds and stones used to cook and boil; stone pipes for healing...

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Stones soup...stones used to heat beds and stones used to cook and boil; stone pipes for healing...

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Stone is used to signify permanence..Cenotaphs, Sculpture, and statue; examining stone..

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Stone is used to signify permanence..Cenotaphs, Sculpture, and statue; examining stone..

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Writing stories from the perspective of the Raven, the Sky , the Thunderbird...why not the stone. 

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Writing stories from the perspective of the Raven, the Sky , the Thunderbird...why not the stone. 

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Stones of HS BAy...and the example of the FIrst Nations Stories of how the natural environment inspires story ; (J. Downie) eg. rock sheltering a crab; looking at a tiny small of space; mindfulness; being present in place; examining sense of place and what that Means (C Cantlie)

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Stones of HS BAy...and the example of the FIrst Nations Stories of how the natural environment inspires story ; (J. Downie) eg. rock sheltering a crab; looking at a tiny small of space; mindfulness; being present in place; examining sense of place and what that Means (C Cantlie)

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PRoviding stones from the Squamish Nation

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Petroglyphs tell stories on stone; Easter island tells stories; 

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Petroglyphs tell stories on stone; Easter island tells stories; 

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Stories about the lion and Chief ...Rock formations...and the stories behind them both geologically or traditionally/ legendary

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Stories about the lion and Chief ...Rock formations...and the stories behind them both geologically or traditionally/ legendary

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Geological story within stones; Easter Island context ...stones and rock each tell a story...

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Geological story within stones; Easter Island context ...stones and rock each tell a story...

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Geologist..guest speakers
Scott Weston
Connor Redmon
Benjamin Hetmann

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Photographs and tableaus to tell stories

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Photographs and tableaus to tell stories

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Movement that is set in not set in stone...visual and imagery...photography, movement, spatial awareness,
...yet another way to tell a story

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Telling stories with Stones...sense of sequence with stones. Stones..as the vehicle...allow for kids to tell the stories; translate the story of your family 

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Telling stories with Stones...sense of sequence with stones. Stones..as the vehicle...allow for kids to tell the stories; translate the story of your family 

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Kids writing stories from different perspectives...taking the role of a child in a residential school

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Kids writing stories from different perspectives...taking the role of a child in a residential school

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Telling your story...kids sharing their story orally in speech form?

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Telling your story...kids sharing their story orally in speech form?

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First Nations Perspective...change over time;  memory, and tradition is to be passed along; generational stories of families that have lived here for generations;
physical change of the HS Bay area; putting kids in the actual place of the history...Isaac Vanderhorst from WV Museum...build upon the capacity that has been built

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Storytelling:

Part One:

Learning and the Relationship with the land

(the rich history of indigenous people)

Part Two:

What were Indian Residential Schools:

Part Three:

The Residential School Experience:

Role Playing:

Leaving family

Students come to school one day and are given different names.

Big name tags they have to wear.

All have to wear the same shirt. ??? Or smock.

Must put hand up whenever they wish to speak – to anyone

Connecting to Principles of Learning:

* Learning is embedded in history and story

* Learning involves patience and time

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Integrating communication skills with the oral component of language arts, using expressive language while storytelling (Grade 6/7 team)

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Integrating communication skills with the oral component of language arts, using expressive language while storytelling (Grade 6/7 team)

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Art activities that link with local history, community and First Peoples culture (Grade K, 1, 2, 3 and Music)

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Art activities that link with local history, community and First Peoples culture (Grade K, 1, 2, 3 and Music)